During his travels to London in 1698 Peter the Great encountered some English barristers wearing their wigs and gowns. “Who are those men?” Peter inquired of his escort. “Lawyers,” was the reply. “Lawyers!” exclaimed Peter, “What is the use of so many? I have only two in my whole empire, and I mean to hang one of them as soon as I return.”

The law and lawyers have not traditionally been accorded much power or status in Russia. Yet, like Peter, a current generation of Russian leaders wishes to reform and modernize Russian society and, in so doing, is eagerly adopting Western practices, concepts, and mores. At the heart of these reforms is the need to create a society based on the rule of law (Rechtsstaat). However, in order to establish such a legal system, Russia must overcome not only three-quarters of a century of communist rule, but also several hundred years of legal backwardness under the tsars.