PARTICIPATION OF A WOMAN LAWYER E. A. FLEISCHITZ IN THE COURT SESSION ON NOVEMBER 6, 1909 AND THE PUBLIC SPHERE

At the beginning of the 20th century, Russian universities opened their doors to Russian women. Higher legal education was also becoming available, which, in accordance with the norms of the 1864 Judicial Statutes, allowed for practicing law. However, the first Russian women who tried to join the ranks of attorneys in the prescribed manner met insurmountable obstacles from the authorities, who feared that the development of the profession of a lawyer by women would lead to an increased role in socio-political life. E. A. Fleishits became the first lawyer in Russia who, on legitimate grounds, came to court to defend the defendants, was supported by the judges, but not by the prosecutor, who caused a scandal and disrupted the meeting. The article is devoted to the circumstances of this case and the subsequent socio-political escalation. Metropolitan and provincial periodicals of various trends presented the news about the failed trial as sensational. The participation of a female lawyer in the St. Petersburg District Court session on November 6, 1909, as well as the conflict that arose between her and the prosecutor, were subject to careful analysis in the press, causing a strong public outcry. The Senate, forced to intervene quickly, banned Russian women from acting as lawyers in criminal cases. But the State Duma deputies gave the issue a legislative direction, and despite the government’s resistance, under pressure from public opinion, the bill on women’s advocacy in 1912–1913 was considered in Parliament.