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Адвокатура как женская профессия в дореволюционной России
In late tsarist Russia, women began to master professions that were previously considered male. The legal profession was attractive to them, and some Russian women tried to join its ranks, and some managed to take part in trials as lawyers. This work is the first in historiography to focus on such cases. The use of microhistorical detail, a view through a gender approach on the change in the social role of women, as well as the use of materials from periodicals, archival documentation and memoirs make it possible to explore the issue of women’s ability to practice law and the changes in the legal profession itself that could follow. Russian women have been noticed in the legal profession since the 1870s, and were very active in Siberia and Finland, where there were special judicial procedures. And in turn, in the area of validity of the Judicial Statutes of 1864, an obstacle for them was the requirement for attorneys to have a diploma of higher legal education. At the beginning of the twentieth century, women were allowed to graduate from university law faculties, which gave them a reason to apply for the legal profession. Several Russian women took part in court hearings as attorneys. However, such actions were suppressed by the authorities, and the official employment of certified lawyers in the legal profession was made impossible. Nevertheless, they often found employment in positions that allowed them to implement their acquired knowledge providing legal assistance to the population. The work of women lawyers, like other Russian women in the service of the law, had certain results and received mostly positive assessments from male lawyers, politicians and members of the public. The feminization of the legal profession began, and in court hearings with the participation of women attorneys, special attention was given to the gender factor. Adapting to the profession, Russian women imitated men. In their behavior and manners it was already difficult to discern the virtues that were traditionally attributed to females. They came to court to defend someone’s interests prepared, having mastered the skills of a lawyer, and won cases, and their legal activities were generally recognized as successful and worthy of the trust of their clientele.