ABSTRACT
In examining the many legal reforms currently underway in the Russian Federation, the temptation to draw comparisons and look for parallels with the reform efforts of the past is almost irresistible. In part, this is occasioned by a general assumption that a society learns from and responds to its past experiences and that an evaluation of reform efforts must, therefore, include some consideration of the relevant history. With regard to Russia’s current legal reforms, concern for the historical context is heightened by a history of sweeping reforms of the law, involving not only change in substantive and procedural legal rules but also wholesale replacement of existing legal institutions within very short time frames. 1 Moreover, the references to the need for Russia to “return” to former principles and “rejoin” the international community that were common at the start of the current reform, as well as the constant debate over the importance of Russia’s own unique history and requirements, would suggest a strong focus in reform efforts on the interpretation and adaptation of the past.
