Funny stories about a spitting lawyer. Stories about a slobber A slobber's case

Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako (April 25, 1842, Troitsk - January 5, 1909, Moscow) - the most famous lawyer in pre-revolutionary Russia, a lawyer, a court speaker, a real state councilor. He acted as a defender at many high-profile political and civil processes.

Possessing a lively mind, truly Russian ingenuity and eloquence, he won judicial victories over his opponents. In the legal environment, he was even nicknamed "Moscow Chrysostom". There is a selection of the most concise and vivid court speeches by a lawyer, in which there are no complex and confusing court terms. If you develop your oratory skills, structure and rhetorical techniques of F.N. Plevako can help you with this.

The lawyer F.N. Plevako defended the owner of a small shop, a semi-literate woman who violated the rules on trading hours and closed the trade 20 minutes later than it was supposed to, on the eve of some religious holiday. The court hearing in her case was scheduled for 10 o'clock. The court left 10 minutes late. Everyone was there, except for the defender - Plevako. The chairman of the court ordered to find Plevako. After 10 minutes, Plevako, slowly, entered the hall, calmly sat down at the place of protection and opened the briefcase. The chairman of the court reprimanded him for being late. Then Plevako pulled out his watch, looked at it and declared that it was only five past ten on his watch. The chairman pointed out to him that it was already 20 past ten on the wall clock. Plevako asked the chairman:

“And how much is on your watch, Your Excellency?”

The chairman looked and replied:

— At my fifteen minutes past ten.

Plevako turned to the prosecutor:

- And on your watch, Mr. Prosecutor?

The prosecutor, obviously wishing to cause trouble for the defense counsel, replied with a sly smile:

“It's already twenty-five past ten on my watch.

He could not know what kind of trap Plevako set up for him and how much he, the prosecutor, helped the defense. The trial ended very quickly. Witnesses confirmed that the defendant closed the shop 20 minutes late. The prosecutor asked that the defendant be found guilty. The floor was given to Plevako. The speech lasted two minutes. He declared:

— The defendant was indeed 20 minutes late. But, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, she is an old woman, illiterate, and does not know much about watches. We are literate and intelligent people. How are you doing with your watch? When the wall clock shows 20 minutes, the chairman has 15 minutes, and the prosecutor's clock has 25 minutes. Of course, Mr. Prosecutor has the most faithful watch. So my watch was 20 minutes behind, which is why I was 20 minutes late. And I always considered my watch very accurate, because I have gold, Moser. So if Mr. Chairman, according to the prosecutor's clock, opened the session 15 minutes late, and the defense counsel appeared 20 minutes later, then how can you demand that an illiterate saleswoman have better hours and better understand the time than the prosecutor and I? The jury deliberated for one minute and acquitted the defendant.

Once, Plevako got a case about the murder of his woman by one man. Plevako came to court as usual, calm and confident in success, and without any papers and cribs. And so, when the turn came to the defense, Plevako stood up and said:

The noise in the hall began to subside. Plevako again:

— Gentlemen of the jury!

There was dead silence in the hall. Lawyer again:

- Gentlemen of the jury!

There was a slight rustle in the hall, but the speech did not begin. Again:

- Gentlemen of the jury!

Here in the hall swept the discontented rumble of the long-awaited long-awaited spectacle of the people. And Plevako again:

- Gentlemen of the jury!

Here already the hall exploded with indignation, perceiving everything as a mockery of the respectable public. And from the podium again:

- Gentlemen of the jury!

Something incredible has begun. The hall roared along with the judge, prosecutor and assessors. And finally, Plevako raised his hand, urging the people to calm down.

— Well, gentlemen, you could not stand even 15 minutes of my experiment. And what was it like for this unfortunate peasant to listen for 15 years to unfair reproaches and the irritated itch of his grumpy woman over every insignificant trifle?!

The hall froze, then burst into enthusiastic applause. The man was acquitted.

He once defended an elderly priest accused of adultery and theft. By all appearances, the defendant had nothing to count on the favor of the jury. The prosecutor convincingly described the depth of the fall of the clergyman, mired in sins. Finally, Plevako got up from his seat. His speech was short: "Gentlemen of the jury! The matter is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right in everything. The defendant committed all these crimes and confessed to them himself. What is there to argue about? confess your sins. Now he is waiting for you: will you forgive him his sin?"

There is no need to specify that the priest was acquitted.

The court is considering the case of an old woman, a hereditary honorary citizen, who stole a tin teapot worth 30 kopecks. The prosecutor, knowing that Plevako would defend her, decided to cut the ground from under his feet, and he himself described to the jury the hard life of the client, which forced her to take such a step. The prosecutor even stressed that the criminal causes pity, not resentment. But, gentlemen, private property is sacred, the world order is based on this principle, so if you justify this grandmother, then you and the revolutionaries should logically be justified. The jurors nodded their heads in agreement, and then Plevako began his speech. He said: "Russia had to endure many troubles, many trials for more than a thousand years of existence. The Pechenegs tormented her, the Polovtsians, Tatars, Poles. Twelve languages ​​fell upon her, took Moscow. Russia endured everything, overcame everything, only grew stronger and grew from trials. But now ... The old woman stole an old teapot worth 30 kopecks. Of course, Russia will not be able to withstand this, it will die forever from this ... "

The old woman was acquitted.

In addition to the story about the famous lawyer Plevako. He defends a man whom a prostitute has accused of rape and is trying to get a significant amount from him in court for the injury. Facts of the case: the plaintiff alleges that the defendant lured her into a hotel room and raped her there. The man declares that everything was in good agreement. The last word for Plevako. "Gentlemen of the jury," he says. "If you award my client a fine, then I ask you to deduct from this amount the cost of washing the sheets that the plaintiff soiled with her shoes."

The prostitute jumps up and shouts: "That's not true! I took off my shoes!!!"

Laughter in the hall. The defendant is acquitted.

The great Russian lawyer F.N. Plevako is credited with the frequent use of the religious mood of jurors in the interests of clients. One day, speaking in the provincial district court, he agreed with the bell ringer of the local church that he would begin the evangelization for mass with special precision. The speech of the famous lawyer lasted several hours, and at the end F.N. Plevako exclaimed:

— If my client is innocent, the Lord will give a sign about it!

And then the bells rang. The jurors crossed themselves. The meeting lasted several minutes, and the foreman announced a verdict of not guilty.

The present case was considered by the Ostrogozhsky district court on September 29-30, 1883. Prince G.I. Gruzinsky was accused of premeditated murder of the former tutor of his children, who later managed the estate of Gruzinsky's wife, E.F. Schmidt. The preliminary investigation established the following. After Gruzinsky demanded that his wife stop all relations as a tutor, very quickly becomes close to his wife, with the tutor, and fired him himself, the wife declared the impossibility of further living with Gruzinsky and demanded the allocation of part of her property. Having settled in the estate allotted to her, she invited E.F. Schmidt. After the partition, two of Gruzinsky's children lived for some time with their mother in the same estate where Schmidt was the manager. Schmidt often used this to take revenge on Gruzinsky. The latter had limited opportunities for meetings with children, children were told a lot of compromising things about Gruzinsky. As a result, being constantly in a tense nervous state when meeting with Schmidt and with children, Gruzinsky during one of these meetings killed Schmidt by shooting him several times with a pistol.

Plevako, defending the defendant, very consistently proves the absence of intent in his actions and the need to qualify them as committed in a state of insanity. He focuses on the feelings of the prince at the time of the crime, on his relationship with his wife, on love for children. He tells the story of the prince, about his meeting with the "clerk from the store", about his relationship with the old princess, about how the prince took care of his wife and children. The eldest son was growing up, the prince was taking him to St. Petersburg, to school. There he falls ill with a fever. The prince experiences three attacks, during which he manages to return to Moscow: "Tenderly loving father, husband wants to see a family."

“It was then that the prince, who had not yet left the bed, had to experience terrible grief. Once he hears - the patients are so sensitive - in the next room, a conversation between Schmidt and his wife: they, apparently, perekoreyvayut; but their quarrel is so strange: it’s like they are scolding, and not strangers, then again peaceful speeches ... uncomfortable ... The prince gets up, gathers strength ..., goes when no one expected him, when they thought that he was bedridden ... And well. not well together ... The prince fainted and lay on the floor all night. Those who were caught fled, not even guessing to send help to the sick man. The prince could not kill the enemy, destroy him, he was weak ... He only accepted misfortune in an open heart, so that he would never be with him not to know separation.

Plevako claims that he would not have dared to blame the princess and Schmidt, doom them to the prince's sacrifice, if they left, did not boast of their love, did not insult him, did not extort money from him, what is it "It would be a hypocrisy of the word." The princess lives in her half of the estate. Then she leaves, leaving the children with Schmidt. The prince is angry: he takes the children. But here the unthinkable happens. “Schmidt, taking advantage of the fact that children’s underwear is in the princess’s house where he lives, rejects the demand with a curse and sends an answer that without 300 rubles a deposit he will not give the prince two shirts and two pants for children. and children, and dares to call him a man capable of wasting children's underwear, takes care of the children, and demands a 300 ruble deposit from the father.

The next morning, the prince saw children in crumpled shirts. "My father's heart sank. He turned away from these talking eyes and - what father's love would not do - went out into the hallway, got into the carriage prepared for him for the trip and went ... went to ask his rival, enduring shame and humiliation, shirts for his children " . Schmidt at night, according to witnesses, loaded guns. The prince had a gun, but it was a habit, not an intention. "I affirm- said Plevako, - that an ambush awaits him. Linen, refusal, bail, loaded guns of large and small caliber - everything speaks for my thought. He goes to Schmidt. "Of course, his soul could not help but be indignant when he saw the nest of his enemies and began to approach him. Here it is - the place where, in the hours of his grief and suffering, they - his enemies - laugh and rejoice at his misfortune. Here it is - a lair where the honor of the family, and his honor, and all the interests of his children were sacrificed to the animal voluptuousness of the swindler. Here it is - a place where not only was his present taken away, his past happiness was taken away, poisoning him with suspicions ... God forbid to experience such moments! In such a mood he rides, approaches the house, knocks on the door. They do not let him in. The footman speaks of the order not to receive. The prince conveys that he does not need anything except linen. But instead of fulfilling his finally, a polite refusal, he hears scolding, scolding from the lips of his wife's lover, directed at him, who does not do any insult on his part. You have heard about this abuse: "Let the scoundrel leave, don't you dare knock, this is my house! Get out, I'll shoot." The whole being of the prince was indignant. The enemy stood close and laughed so brazenly. The fact that he was armed, the prince could know from his family, who had heard from Tsybulin. And the fact that he was capable of all evil - the prince could not do not believe". He shoots. "But, listen, gentlemen, the defender says - was there a living place in his soul at that terrible moment. "" The prince could not cope with these feelings. They are too legal. The husband sees a man ready to defile the purity of the marriage bed; the father is present at the scene of the seduction of his daughter; the high priest sees the impending blasphemy, and, apart from them, there is no one to save the right and the sacred. It is not a vicious feeling of malice that rises in their souls, but a righteous sense of revenge and protection of the violated right. It is legal, it is holy; don’t get up, they are despicable people, panders, sacrilegious!”

Finishing his speech, Fyodor Nikiforovich said: “Oh, how happy I would be if, having measured and compared with your own understanding the strength of his patience and struggle with himself, and the strength of the oppression over him of the soul-disturbing pictures of his family misfortune, you would admit that he cannot be imputed to the charge that is being brought up, and his defender is all around to blame for the insufficient ability to fulfill the task he has taken on ... "

The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, finding that the crime was committed in a state of insanity.

Another time a wealthy Moscow merchant turned to him for help. Plevako says: “I heard about this merchant. I decided that I would break such a fee that the merchant would be horrified. And he not only was not surprised, but also said:

- You just win my case. I'll pay what you said, and I'll give you pleasure.

- What is the pleasure?

Win the case, you'll see.

I won the case. The merchant paid the fee. I reminded him of the promised pleasure. The merchant says:

- On Sunday, at ten o'clock in the morning, I'll pick you up, let's go.

"Where to at this early?"

- Look, you'll see.

It's Sunday. The merchant followed me. We are going to Zamoskvorechye. I wonder where he's taking me. There are no restaurants here, no gypsies. Yes, this is not the right time for this. Let's go down some lanes. There are no residential buildings around, only barns and warehouses. We drove up to a warehouse. A man is standing at the gate. Not a watchman, not an artel worker. Got down. Kupchina asks the man:

- Ready?

"That's right, your lordship."

- Lead...

Let's go to the yard. The little man opened a door. Came in, look and do not understand anything. Huge room, shelves on the walls, dishes on the shelves. The merchant escorted the peasant out, stripped off his fur coat, and offered to take it off for me. I undress. The merchant went to a corner, took two hefty clubs, gave me one of them and said:

- Start.

— Yes, what to start?

- Like what? Dishes to beat!

Why hit her?

The merchant smiled.

“Get started, you’ll understand why…

The merchant went up to the shelves and broke a bunch of dishes with one blow. I hit too. Also broke. We began to beat the dishes and, imagine, I went into such a rage and began to break the dishes with a club with such fury that I’m even ashamed to remember. Imagine that I really experienced some kind of wild, but spicy pleasure and could not calm down until the merchant and I smashed everything to the last cup. When it was all over, the merchant asked me:

- Well, did you enjoy it?

I had to admit that I did."

Thank you for your attention!

In the history of the advocacy of the Russian Empire, there is no brighter personality than Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako, - a man who left a bright mark in the memory of his contemporaries. He deserved such an attitude with his great talent, and the name Plevako itself became synonymous with eloquence.

He was born on April 13, 1842 in the city of Troitsk, Orenburg province, into a noble family.

The future lawyer began his career as an intern at the Moscow District Court (from 1862-1864). From 1866 Plevako F.N. in the barrister's office: assistant barrister, since October 1870 barrister of the district of the Moscow Court of Justice.

Soon Plevako F.N. gained fame as an outstanding lawyer and court speaker.

Wit, resourcefulness, the ability to instantly respond to an opponent’s remark, to stun the audience with a cascade of unexpected images and comparisons, to the point of sarcasm - all these qualities were demonstrated by Plevako in abundance.

A characteristic feature of his speeches was improvisation, Plevako never prepared his speeches, but acted according to the situation based on the audience gathered, the place and time of the case. Journalists were constantly present at the processes with his participation, eagerly catching every word he said.

Plevako had a habit of starting all his speeches with the phrase: "Gentlemen, it could have been worse." He never changed his phrase. Once Plevako undertook to defend a man who had raped his daughter. The hall was full as usual, everyone was waiting for the lawyer to start his speech. Is it from a favorite phrase? Incredible. Plevako stood up and said coolly: “Gentlemen, it could have been worse.” The hall roared. The judge himself could not resist. “What,” he cried, “tell me, what could be worse than this abomination?” “Your honor,” Plevako asked, “what if he raped your daughter?”

The history of law practice included many cases involving Plevako, when his mind and ingenuity helped to achieve the desired result. Here are a few of them.

Once Plevako participated in the defense of an old woman whose fault was that she stole a tin kettle worth 50 kopecks. The prosecutor, knowing who would be acting as a lawyer, decided in advance to paralyze the influence of the defense counsel’s speech, and he himself expressed everything that could be said in favor of the defendant: poor old woman, bitter need, insignificant theft, the defendant does not cause indignation, but only pity. But property is sacred, and if people are allowed to encroach on it / the country will perish. After listening to the prosecutor, Plevako got up and said: “Russia had to endure many troubles and trials during its more than a thousand-year existence. Pechenegs tormented her, Polovtsy, Tatars, Poles. Twelve languages ​​fell upon her, they took Moscow. Russia overcame everything, only grew stronger and grew from trials. But now, now... the old woman stole a teapot worth 50 kopecks. Russia, of course, will not be able to withstand this, it will perish irrevocably from this.

The old woman was justified.

Once Plevako defended a man whom a woman of easy virtue accused of rape and tried to get a significant amount, allegedly for the injury. At the same time, the plaintiff claimed that the defendant lured her into a hotel room and raped her there. The man said that everything was in good agreement. Plevako had the last word.

“Gentlemen of the jury, if you award my client a fine, then I ask you to deduct from this amount the cost of washing the sheets that the plaintiff soiled with her shoes.

The woman jumps up and shouts:

- Not true! I took off my shoes!

Laughter in the hall.

The defendant was acquitted.

The priest was tried. Guilt has been proven. The defendant himself confessed to everything and repented.

The defender, Plevako, stood up: “Gentlemen of the jury! The matter is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right about everything. The defendant himself confessed to all the crimes. What is there to argue about? But I draw your attention to this. Before you sits a man who for thirty years has forgiven you for confession of your sins. Now he is waiting for you: “Will you forgive him his sins!?”

The priest was acquitted.

Plevako's personality combined integrity and sweepingness, nihilism and religiosity (Plevako was a lover and connoisseur of church chanting), simplicity in everyday life and rampant nobility (Plevako arranged feasts on specially chartered steamers from Nizhny Novgorod to Astrakhan). Taking huge fees from wealthy clients, Plevako defended the peasants of the village of Lutorichi, who had raised an uprising, free of charge (in addition, he paid the costs of maintaining all of them for the three weeks of the trial).

The Plevako House has always been the center of social and cultural life in Moscow at the end of the 10th century. I X beginning of XX century.

Plevako died on January 05, 1909 in Moscow. He was buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery.

An article about Plevako, written by a candidate of historical sciences, as follows from the signature. It describes the following dramatic episode of 130 years (1890) ago:

“It is not surprising that Plevako’s passionate, pictorial performances not only triumphantly saved, but also killed. Indicative in this regard was the case of the manager of the Moscow hotel "Montenegro" a certain Frolov, who was prosecuted for arbitrariness.

The girl came to Moscow from the provinces and stayed at this hotel, taking a separate room on the third floor. It was already past midnight when the tipsy Frolov decided to pay her a “visit”. The girl, awakened by a knock, refused the demand to let him in, after which, on the orders of Frolov, the floor polishers began to break the door. At that moment, when the door cracked, a girl in one shirt jumped out of the window in 25-degree frost. Fortunately for her, there was a lot of snow in the yard, and she did not hurt herself to death, although she broke her arm.

When considering the case in court, the accusatory party “naively” refused to understand what the girl was so afraid of and why she jumped out of the window at the risk of her life. The perplexity of the prosecutor was resolved by Plevako, who defended the interests of the victim. His speech was short and boiled down to drawing the following parallel: “In distant Siberia,” Plevako said, “in the dense taiga there is an animal, which fate has awarded with a fur coat as white as snow. This is a stoat. When he escapes from an enemy who is ready to tear him apart, and on the way there is a dirty puddle that there is no time to pass, he prefers to surrender to the enemy than to soil his snow-white fur coat. And I understand why the victim jumped out the window.” Without adding another word, Plevako sat down. However, more was not required of him. The judges sentenced Frolov to death.”

Ermine, winter color. (wikipedia.org)

You don't have to be an ermine zoologist (okay, a mustelid specialist) to understand that something is impassable mud or a white ermine; Of course, a rumpled puddle can also be encountered in a snowy winter, but why shouldn't an ermine run around it? One does not have to be a narrow specialist in Russian history of the 19th century to understand that executions were extremely rare in it, more and more for an attempt on the tsar or for military crimes in wartime, and execution was only for the second category of acts. Where, then, did it come from?

With the execution it turns out easier (and, admittedly, more fun): it simply did not exist. The search rather quickly leads us to an endless series of monotonous repetitions of the fragment (including in textbooks of respected universities) to a completely obvious primary source: V.I. - Ural book publishing house, 1989). There, on pages 86-87, the whole story is told, word for word, as in the passage quoted above (which, of course, does not contain a reference), in whole paragraphs - up to punctuation marks, but with one significant difference in the final: “And, not adding no more words, the lawyer sat down. Yes, nothing more was required of him. If the accuser was naive, then the same could not be said about the judges. Having found Frolov guilty, they sentenced him to capital punishment.”

With the fate of Frolov, it becomes clearer, although not completely. Of course, he was not shot, he was "sentenced to capital punishment." It is clear that in the view of a Soviet person this implies execution, and one of our contemporaries read and comprehended the wording of Vasily Smolyarchuk unequivocally, but where did Vasily Ivanovich himself get it from?

And he took it from the most interesting, but practically in 1989, not memorable book by E. I. Kozlinina “For half a century (1862−1912). Memoirs, essays and characteristics ", published in the distant and prosperous 1913 in Moscow, in the printing house of Berdonosov, Prigorin and Co., which is on Bolshaya Dmitrovka in house number 3. "Ekaterina Ivanovna Kozlinina - she is mentioned in the annotation on one of the venerable book sites — she worked for many decades in the Moscow judicial system, starting her career as a census taker, and was a witness to the pre-reform procedures for conducting investigations and courts. The reform of 1864-1866 itself, marked by the opening of the District Courts and the Court of Justice, and the work of outstanding judicial figures of the new formation, such as D. A. Rovinsky and A. F. Koni, and the most high-profile criminal and political processes." It was she who used this expression on page 199, ingenuously believing that it would be clear to all readers: we are talking about the maximum possible punishment for this accusation - deprivation of the rights of a state and a long exile in "remote places." So the demand is not from her, but from the Doctor of Law, who uncritically copied from her (also practically word for word, and also without reference) after three quarters of a century - he should, it would seem, understand! ..

Cover of the first edition. (dlib.rsl.ru)

More interesting with ermine. Ekaterina Ivanovna was noticed in “artistic prettiness”, but of course, she would never have dared to invent for Plevako an animal from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail (especially since less than a quarter of a century had passed and the eyewitnesses were alive). So, there was a "animal" - this is how Plevako's speech is conveyed by the then spelling. Where did he come from?

Fedor Nikiforovich's childhood passed in the Southern Urals, ermines are found there, did it really come from a young age, were the stories of hunters or Kazakh mothers inspired? No, the chest opens easier. The great Russian lawyer selflessly loved to read and kept a lot of things in his vast memory. Apparently this includes:

“There is a legend that one of the Dukes of Brittany, Alain Crooked Beard (Alain Barbetorte), pursued by the Normans, was stopped by a flooded river, muddy and dirty. At this time, the duke noticed an ermine running away from galloping horses and also stopped by the river. At the water's edge, the stoat turned sharply, preferring death to mud. Assessing the courage of the animal, Alain II shouted to his comrades-in-arms: “Better death than disgrace!”, And the inspired Bretons turned to face the enemy.”

Alain Crooked Beard, 1861 statue. (bcd.bzh)

And Fedor Nikiforovich whitewashed the legendary ermine, presumably, on his own.

In any case, the ermine was. There was no shooting.

old lady with teapot

One of the most famous tales about Plevako is about how he saved an old woman who stole a teapot from severe punishment. In dozens of options, she dispersed across the Internet, only the degree of privilege of the old woman (either a columned noblewoman, or an honorary citizen) and the cost of a teapot vary - from 30 to 50 kopecks. However, the original source is easily found, this is an essay by Vikenty Vikentievich Veresaev, a doctor and writer, from the series “Unfictional stories about the past” (Collected Works in 5 volumes. Vol. 4. M., 1961. P. 355−356):

Vikenty Veresaev, photo 1913 (wikipedia.org)

“The prosecutors knew the strength of Spitters. The old woman stole a tin kettle worth less than fifty kopecks. She was a hereditary honorary citizen and, as a member of the privileged class, was subject to a jury trial. Whether along with it or so, on a whim, Plevako acted as the protector of the old woman. The prosecutor decided in advance to paralyze the influence of Plevaka's defense speech and himself said everything that could be said in defense of the old woman: poor old woman, bitter need, insignificant theft, the defendant evokes not indignation, but only pity. But - property is sacred, all our civic amenities rest on property, if we allow people to shake it, then the country will perish.

Plevako got up:

Many troubles, many trials had to endure Russia for its more than a thousand years of existence. Pechenegs tormented her, Polovtsy, Tatars, Poles. Twelve languages ​​fell upon her, they took Moscow. Russia endured everything, overcame everything, only grew stronger and grew from trials. But now, now... The old woman stole an old teapot worth thirty kopecks. Russia, of course, will not be able to withstand this, it will perish irrevocably from this.

Justified.

Everything in the essay is good, but only it definitely does not fit in with the legislation, like the execution from the previous story. There were no more hereditary honorary citizens or nobility any more privileges in court, this is one of the main advantages of the Judicial Reform of 1864. And he "shone" an old woman of any origin for the smallest thief of the world court, and therefore - neither a prosecutor, nor a lawyer, nor, especially, a jury. What is it, an invention?

No, not fiction. Only there was not a tin teapot, but a silver coffee pot, and not 30 kopecks, but 300 rubles, as described by Veresaev's contemporary, the once famous journalist Vlas Doroshevich:

Vlas Doroshevich, photo n. 20th century (wikipedia.org)

“The building of the world convention was just sitting at that time “wandering justice” [That was the ironic name for the regular visiting sessions of the district court, which visited all the cities of the judicial district several times a year].

A visiting session, with candidates for judicial positions instead of defense counsel, and with fifteen minutes to spare for each case. Passing along the corridor, Plevako saw some old woman, poorly, cleanly dressed. Who wept bitterly. Maternal love and maternal grief always especially touched Plevako.

Is your son suing?

No I myself.

You? What could you do that is against the law?

The story turned out to be absurd. For everyone except the old woman.

Everyone died ... No funds ... Stole ... Theft is trifling.

But she is a noblewoman. District Court. Plevako turned to her "candidate":

Will you give me protection?

Fedor Nikiforovich!

The news that “Plevako himself is speaking in court” caused a stir in the city two minutes later. The judges took a break to give the ladies of the city time to get dressed and run to court. The hall was full. The prosecutor's comrade, who is "training his hand" at visiting sessions, sharpened his tongue. With such an adversary! In front of such an audience! The trial lasted for a minute.

Do you plead guilty ... coffee pot ... less than 300 rubles ...

I agree, Your Excellency!

In view of consciousness ... I refuse to interrogate witnesses ...

In turn, I do not see the need!

The assistant prosecutor got up.

- ... not a simple theft ... When a dark, illiterate person-Noblewoman steals!

Plevako got up:

Gentlemen of the jury! I confess. I looked at the case somewhat flippantly and took it upon myself to defend my client. Thought the jury would be sorry. The matter is empty! But, after listening to the speech of Mr. Comrade Prosecutor, I saw that I was mistaken. He so convinced me of the gravity of my client's crime that I can't find a single word in her defense. And I will only allow myself to develop the thought of the venerable representative of the prosecution. In 1862, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Russia was suffering from terrible internal disturbances. But our ancestors sent for the Varangians. The Varangians came, helped, whether it was bad or good, but they introduced order. And Russia is saved. Russia has risen. Then the Tatars came to Russia, plundered it, burned it, captured it all. Russia died. But she didn't die! Eaten by appanage strife, it forgot them, rallied together, mighty Russia shook itself and threw off the hated "nasty" yoke. Holy Russia rose and rose again. Saved! In one thousand six hundred and twelfth year, under the arrogant yoke of the Poles, wounded Russia oozed and died. Everything prophesied her death. Moscow was taken, and already in Warsaw, like a kite waiting for prey, a foreign tsar, alien to Russia, was waiting for Monomakh's crown. But while the Poles were feasting on victory in Moscow, the mighty Russian cry of Kozma Minin, a simple title, a great-hearted man, called out in Nizhny Novgorod. And like eagles flock, Russia flocked to his eagle scream, and stood up as one man, and broke the shameful chains, and drove away the haughty enemy with shame. Holy Russia resurrected And was saved. And two hundred years later, the winner of all of Europe, it seemed, stepped on her head with a bold foot. Moscow was burned! Moscow itself! From the Kremlin, the winner dictated the terms of peace! But even here Russia did not die. She rose, and with her fire and frost, with weapons and rakes, she drove the winner - she drove until she drowned his glory in the Berezina. Russia has risen! But in 1800 such-and-such, an elderly noblewoman such-and-such, having forgotten all divine and human laws from hunger, stole a silver coffee pot, undermined all respect for the sacred right to property, and set a pernicious example for all of Russia. And from this blow, it seems to me, never recover, never rise, never resurrect poor Russia.

A “practiced” comrade of the prosecutor, they say, that night he tried to poison himself ...

Plevako is a formidable adversary. Terrible in his resourcefulness.

And everything falls into place. It is clear why the prosecutor and the lawyer, it is clear why the jury. The fact that the old noblewoman is an important psychological touch, and not a flaw in the law. And in the formal application of the articles of the Code of Punishment, she faces a serious misfortune, theft is not trifling, 300 rubles - a six-month salary of a junior officer or petty official.

And Plevako - yes, well done. What about the ermine, what about “Rus perished!”

Fyodor Plevako was born on April 25, 1842. His parents were not married, so he was considered an illegitimate child. The young man was distinguished by remarkable abilities, mathematics was the easiest for him. Fedor sat all day long over books and without difficulty entered the Commercial School in Moscow. Alas, they failed to finish their studies - Plevako and his brother were expelled from the educational institution as illegitimate. The father used all his connections to get his children admitted to the 1st Moscow Gymnasium. Then Fedor became a student at the law faculty of Moscow University. The teachers noted the young man's lively mind and predicted a bright future for him.

The young lawyer is quickly becoming one of the most sought after in Moscow. He was listened to with bated breath - Plevako, with his amazing oratorical gift, could convince anyone.

"His speech is even, soft, sincere."

He “adapted” the tone of his speech to the audience, appealing to both reason and feelings. Accurate images, conciseness and logical harmony - on the judicial platform, Fyodor Nikiforovich had no equal. However, he never prepared his speeches in advance. The audience was captivated by witty remarks, always said to the point. “The high-cheeked, angular face of the Kalmyk type with wide-set eyes, with unruly strands of long black hair, could be called ugly if it were not illuminated by inner beauty, which showed through either in a general animated expression, or in a kind, lion-like smile, or in fire and brilliance. talking eyes.

The audience was captivated by witty remarks, always said to the point

His movements were uneven and sometimes awkward; A lawyer's tailcoat sat clumsily on him, and his whispering voice seemed to run counter to his vocation as an orator. But in this voice there were notes of such strength and passion that he captured the listener and conquered him, ”wrote judge Anatoly Koni.

Postage stamp of Russia

This is how Anton Pavlovich Chekhov described the famous lawyer: “Plevako approaches the music stand, looks at the jury for half a minute and begins to speak. His speech is even, soft, sincere. Figurative expressions, good thoughts and other beauties are many sets. Diction climbs into the very soul, fire looks out of the eyes. No matter how much Plevako says, you can always listen to him without boredom ... ".

The lawyer participated in the high-profile case of the Morozov strike (1885). It was one of the largest strikes in the history of the Russian Empire. About 8000 thousand people became its participants. The authorities sent 3 battalions of soldiers and 500 Cossacks to suppress the strike. As a result, 33 people ended up in the dock, but they were acquitted by a jury. In his speeches, Plevako appealed to the feeling of compassion for the workers, exhausted by hard physical labor. He has acted as defense counsel in labor unrest cases on several occasions.

Plevako, with his amazing oratorical gift, could convince anyone

Another brilliant speech by Fyodor Nikiforovich is connected with the rebellion of the peasants of one of the villages of the Tula province against the neighboring landowner, Count Bobrinsky. The rebellion was brutally suppressed, 34 "instigators" were put on trial. Plevako not only defended the defendants, but also paid them all legal expenses. The plight of the Tula peasants was proved by concrete figures. According to him, they lived "a hundred times harder than pre-reform slavery." "Poverty is hopeless,<…>lack of rights, shameless exploitation, leading everyone and everything to ruin - here they are, instigators! ”Said the lawyer.

Once, Plevako defended a saleswoman who violated the rule on trading and closed her shop 20 minutes later than what was required by law. Fedor Nikiforovich was 10 minutes late for the meeting. The prosecutor asked that the defendant be found guilty. “The defendant was indeed 20 minutes late. But, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, she is an old woman, illiterate, and does not know much about watches. We are literate and intelligent people. How are you doing with your watch? When the wall clock shows 20 minutes, the chairman has 15 minutes, and the prosecutor's clock has 25 minutes. Of course, Mr. Prosecutor has the most faithful watch. So my watch was 20 minutes behind, which is why I was 20 minutes late. And I always considered my watch to be very accurate, because I have gold, Moser, ”said Plevako. After his speech, the saleswoman was acquitted.

Abbess Mitrofania

Fyodor Nikiforovich also defended Mother Superior Mitrofania; She was accused of misappropriation of someone else's property. This case was widely reported in the press. The court ruled to deprive Mitrofaniya of her property and exile her to the Yenisei province, but her defenders succeeded in reducing the sentence of deportation to Stavropol. The outstanding lawyer died on January 5, 1909 in Moscow.

Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako

Fedor Plevako was born on April 13 (25), 1842 in the city of Troitsk, Orenburg province.

According to some reports, F.N. Plevako was the son of a nobleman and a serf. Father - court adviser Vasily Ivanovich Plevak, mother - Ekaterina Stepanova. The parents were not in an official church marriage, so their two children - Fedor and Dormidont - were considered illegitimate.

In 1851, the Plevakov family moved to Moscow. In the fall, the brothers were sent to the Commercial School on Ostozhenka. The brothers studied well, especially Fedor became famous for his mathematical abilities. By the end of the first year of study, their names were listed on the “golden board” of the school, but six months later Fyodor and Dormidont were expelled as illegitimate. In the autumn of 1853, thanks to the efforts of their father, they were admitted to the 1st Moscow Gymnasium on Prechistenka - immediately into the 3rd grade.

In 1864, Fedor Plevako graduated from the course at the Faculty of Law of Moscow University, receiving the degree of Candidate of Law.

He was also engaged in scientific work - he translated into Russian and published in 1874 a course on Roman civil law by the German lawyer G.F. Pukhty.

In 1870, Plevako entered the class of attorneys at law in the district of the Moscow Court of Justice and soon became known as one of the best lawyers in Moscow, often not only helping the poor for free, but sometimes paying for the unforeseen expenses of poor clients.

Plevako's career took place in Moscow, which left its mark on him. The religious mood of the Moscow population and the eventful past of the city found a response in the lawyer's court speeches. They abound with texts of Holy Scripture and references to the teachings of the holy fathers. Nature endowed Plevako with a rare gift of a heartfelt, persuasive word, which he did not refuse to people seeking protection from injustice.

Examples of judicial eloquence were Plevako's speeches in the case of Abbess Mitrofania, who participated in forgery, fraud and embezzlement of other people's property (Plevako acted as a civil plaintiff), in defense of Bartenev in the case of the murder of the artist Visnovskaya (this case served as the basis for I. A. Bunin's story "The Cornet Case Yelagin"), in defense of Kachka, a 19-year-old girl suspected of killing a student Bayroshevsky, with whom she was in love. Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako spoke on cases of peasant unrest, factory riots (about a strike at the factory of the Partnership of S. Morozov), in defense of workers accused of resisting the authorities and destroying factory property.

Since 1907, he was a deputy of the 3rd State Duma from the Octobrist Party. He was a member of the party "Union of October 17" ("Octobrists") - a right-liberal political association.

Plevako's circle of friends and acquaintances included writers, actors and artists: Mikhail Vrubel, Konstantin Korovin, Konstantin Stanislavsky, Vasily Surikov, Fedor Chaliapin, Maria Yermolova, Leonid Sobinov.

Plevako Career Facts- well-known political processes:

• The Case of the Luthoric Peasants (1880)
• The Case of the Sevsk Peasants (1905)
• The case of the strike of factory workers of the Association of S. Morozov (1886) and others.
• Bartenev case
• Gruzinsky case
• Case of Lukashevich
• Case Maksimenko
• The case of the workers of the Konshinsky factory
• Zamyatnin case
• Case Zasulich (attributed to Plevako, in fact, the defender was P. A. Alexandrov)

Other interesting facts:

• F.N. Plevako had two sons (from different wives), who were named the same - Sergey Fedorovich. Later, both Sergei Fedorovich Plevako became lawyers and practiced in Moscow, which often caused confusion.

• According to an alternative biography, described, for example, in V. Pikul's short story "Not from Nettle Seed", the father of F. N. Plevako was an exiled Polish revolutionary.

He died on December 23, 1908 (January 5, 1909), at the age of 67, in Moscow. The famous lawyer was buried in the cemetery of the Sorrowful Monastery. In 1929, it was decided to close the monastery cemetery, and organize a playground in its place. The remains of Plevako, by decision of the relatives, were reburied at the Vagankovsky cemetery.

There is currentlyNon-commercial partnership “Fund of historical and cultural heritage of national jurisprudence named after F.N. Plevako.

The main goal of the Partnership is to preserve and popularize the historical and cultural heritage of the bar of the outstanding Russian lawyer F.N. Plevako, as well as assistance to members of the Partnership in the implementation of activities aimed at achieving the above goal.