Alexei Trochev

How and why do the rule of law ideas shape the origins and functioning of the Russian state and society? This book explores how, over two centuries, the Russian meaning of the rule of law has been reflected in the legal doctrine, legislation, formal and informal practices of legal and political institutions, and also everyday life and the perceptions of Russian citizens at large and certain minority groups. The authors argue that legal dualism – the tension between constitutionalism and political expediency – explains the rise and fall of multiple ways in which the parts of the Russian state interact with each other and with citizens, and in which citizens and businesses interact among themselves both at home and abroad. Explaining the peaceful co-existence of these multiple ways of law, this book goes beyond the mainstream accounts of instrumental uses of law and lawlessness in Russia and offers novel ways of understanding the myriad ways in which law may matter in authoritarian regimes.

This is a study of the actual role that the Russian Constitutional Court played in protecting fundamental rights and resolving legislative-executive struggles and federalism disputes in both Yeltsin's and Putin's Russia. Trochev argues that judicial empowerment is a non-linear process with unintended consequences and that courts that depend on their reputation flourish only if an effective and capable state is there to support them. This is because judges can rely only on the authoritativeness of their judgments, unlike politicians and bureaucrats, who have the material resources necessary to respond to judicial decisions. Drawing upon systematic analysis of all decisions of the Russian Court (published and unpublished) and previously unavailable materials on their (non-)implementation, and resting on a combination of the approaches from comparative politics, law, and public administration, this book shows how and why judges attempted to reform Russia's governance and fought to ensure compliance with their judgments.

This is a study of the actual role that the Russian Constitutional Court played in protecting fundamental rights and resolving legislative-executive struggles and federalism disputes in both Yeltsin's and Putin's Russia. Trochev argues that judicial empowerment is a non-linear process with unintended consequences and that courts that depend on their reputation flourish only if an effective and capable state is there to support them. This is because judges can rely only on the authoritativeness of their judgments, unlike politicians and bureaucrats, who have the material resources necessary to respond to judicial decisions. Drawing upon systematic analysis of all decisions of the Russian Court (published and unpublished) and previously unavailable materials on their (non-)implementation, and resting on a combination of the approaches from comparative politics, law, and public administration, this book shows how and why judges attempted to reform Russia's governance and fought to ensure compliance with their judgments.