Financial Status of Judges in the Russian Empire: Progress and Factors in 1801–1864
https://doi.org/10.21603/sibscript-2025-27-6-999-1014
Abstract
Financial status of judges ensures their independence and impartiality. In this respect, the Russian court of the first half of the 19th century had to face a wide range of problems. Most memoirs and archival documents describe the low financial status of judges of the Russian Empire. This article focuses on the state support to court officials, without regard to their personal financial status, in 1801–1864. The previously undescribed archival materials help to understand the current material support for judges in the Russian Federation. The complex research provided a systemic analysis of the state support for judges across the Russian Empire at all levels of justice. The poor financial status of judges was a systemic problem of the pre-reform Russian justice, admitted by the Ministry of Justice itself. The state tried to resolve the situation that prevented the justice system from fulfilling its main functions, but with little effect.
About the Author
Sergey N. PodlesnykhRussian Federation
Voronezh
Scopus Author ID: 59511514500
Competing Interests:
The author declared no potential conflict of interests regarding the research, authorship, and / or publication of this article.
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Review
For citations:
Podlesnykh S.N. Financial Status of Judges in the Russian Empire: Progress and Factors in 1801–1864. SibScript. 2025;27(6):999-1014. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21603/sibscript-2025-27-6-999-1014
































