The work of the Soviet advocacy to provide free legal assistance to Russian citizens and promotion of legal knowledge in 1918–1940 (on the materials of the Kursk region)

Abstract

At present, not only theoretical, but also pragmatic interest in the historical experience of the Soviet state is growing. Not infrequently, this experience is passed off as short stories in modern reality. One of these misconceptions is the provision of free legal assistance to Russian citizens. The purpose of this work is to analyze the process of formation and activities of the lawyer community in Soviet Russia, where the main task is to study the identification of the reasons for the provision of free legal assistance to the population. The conclusion about the regulatory function of the state in providing comprehensive legal assistance to the population is substantiated. The methodological approach is based on the historical method, the formal legal method, and the dialectical method. It is established that the Soviet state administratively determined the rates for legal services provided, depending on the social status of a citizen and his income. The processes of growth of categories of persons receiving legal assistance free of charge are revealed. The role of the advocacy in the promotion of Soviet normative legal acts, primarily in the peasant environment, its public work as a whole is shown. Reasons and methods of liquidation of private practicing lawyers are substantiated. The identified documents allow you to re-evaluate a number of aspects in the activities of the Bar in the specified chronological framework.