ABSTRACT
5Before 1917, the Russian doctrine of international law had been following European patterns. For several decades it managed to catch up with European schools, master the existing array of knowledge, and develop its own traditions. After the Russian Revolution, the Soviet government attempted to translate Marxist ideas into practice and introduced some radical measures. These measures however failed and before the threat of revolt and economic catastrophe the Soviet government carried out a counter-revolution. In general, the USSR cannot be seen as an implementation of the Marxist project: it implemented some of the Marxist objectives while ignoring others. Immediately after the Revolution the Soviet doctrine was divided by a very important dispute about the withering away of the state and law. The Vyshinsky approach, insisting on the special nature of the Soviet state and law, prevailed and determined the future of the Soviet legal science. This science borrowed the concept of voluntarism from the West but sought to give it ideological coloring of its own. After 1991, the Russian doctrine remained positivist, but abandoned the Soviet ideology and borrowed the ideology of its former adversaries. The level of argumentation used by the doctrine, as well as the quality of its scientific texts, is rather low. Scientists regularly participate in conferences, which however do not involve any discussions. The thematic structure is quite diverse and can be characterized by a focus on issues of regional law, human rights, international justice, criminal law, and commercial law. Issues related to statehood, legal provisions formation, etc., on the contrary, are hardly ever analyzed. The academic community for the most part consists of professional professors who earned law degrees at universities and then successfully defended lower doctorates (PhDs) and higher doctorates (DScs). Contemporary Russian international academic professionals are represented by the Russian Association of International Law. Furthermore, most scholars are engaged exclusively in research and teaching, and do not practice law. The community is based at research institutes within universities which are themselves undergoing radical transformation. In general, the Russian doctrine is currently on the verge of drastic changes. This chapter discusses the evolution and contemporary nature of Russian discourses on international law, and presents a survey of its practices and place in the international legal order.
