Lawyer Fedor Plevako. F

Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako. Born April 13 (25), 1842 in Troitsk, Orenburg province - died December 23, 1908 (January 5, 1909) in Moscow. Russian lawyer, jurist, judicial orator, active state councilor.

Father - Vasily Ivanovich Plevak, customs official, court adviser.

Mother - Ekaterina Stepanova. According to one version - a Kalmyk, according to another - a Kyrgyz, according to a third - a Kazakh.

Fedor's parents were not married. In total, four children were born, but only two sons survived - Fedor and Dormidont.

According to legend, after giving birth to Fyodor, the mother wanted to drown herself, but the boy screamed and Catherine came to her senses, they remained alive.

The patronymic Nikiforovich was taken by the name of Nikifor, the godfather of his older brother.

Later, Fedor entered the university with his father's surname Plevak, and after graduating from the university he added the letter "o" to it, moreover, he called himself with an emphasis on the last letter - Plevako.

In the summer of 1851 the family moved to Moscow. The brothers were sent to the Commercial School on Ostozhenka. They studied well. Especially Fedor was given mathematics. By the end of the first year of study, the names of the brothers were listed on the "golden board" of the school. And six months later, Fedor and Dormidont were expelled - as illegitimate.

In the autumn of 1853, thanks to their father's long efforts, Fedor and Dormidont were admitted to the 1st Moscow Gymnasium on Prechistenka - immediately into the 3rd grade. In the same year, Pyotr Kropotkin also entered this gymnasium. Many Russian figures who later became famous studied at the same school.

Graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow University. He was a candidate for judicial positions in Moscow.

In 1870, Plevako entered the class of attorneys at law in the district of the Moscow Court of Justice, which improved his financial situation. He acquired ownership of a house at 35 Bolshoy Afanasyevsky Lane (the house was demolished in 1993).

Soon he 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 his impoverished clients.

Plevako's advocacy took place in Moscow, which left its mark on him. And the ringing of bells in Moscow churches, and the religious mood of the Moscow population, and the eventful past of Moscow, and its current customs resonated in court speeches Plevako. They abound with texts of Holy Scripture and references to the teachings of the holy fathers. Nature endowed Plevako with a wonderful gift of words.

He was an excellent speaker. Plevako's first court speeches immediately revealed a huge oratorical talent. In the process of Colonel Kostrubo-Koritsky, heard in the Ryazan District Court (1871), Plevako was opposed by the barrister Prince A.I. Urusov, whose passionate speech excited the listeners. Plevako had to erase an unfavorable impression for the defendant. He countered the harsh attacks with sound objections, a calm tone, and a rigorous analysis of the evidence.

In all its splendor and original strength, Plevako's oratorical talent was shown in the case of Abbess Mitrofania, who was accused in the Moscow District Court (1874) of forgery, fraud and embezzlement of other people's property. In this process, Plevako acted as a civil plaintiff, denouncing hypocrisy, ambition, criminal inclinations under a monastic cassock.

On December 14, 1874, a case was heard in the Moscow District Court about the event at the Montenegrin Hotel. Its essence was simple. The girl arrived in Moscow and settled in a hotel. Deep after midnight, a company of drunken men knocked on her room, located on the third floor. To a tough demand to let them in, the girl refused. Then they began to break down the door. At the very moment when the door creaked, a girl in one shirt jumped out the window into the street in twenty-five degrees of frost. Fortunately for her, she fell into a snowdrift and survived, although she broke her arm. When considering the case in court, the prosecution resolutely refused to understand what the crime of the male company was. After all, the girl jumped out of the window voluntarily and without coercion. Plevako, who defended the interests of the victim, said: “In distant Siberia, in the dense taiga, there is an animal that fate has awarded with a fur coat as white as snow. This is a stoat. When he escapes from the enemy, who is ready to tear him to pieces, on his way there is a dirty puddle, which there is no time to pass, he prefers to die, but not to stain his snow-white fur coat. And I understand why the victim jumped out the window.” Without uttering another word, Plevako sat down. The jury returned a guilty verdict against a group of men.

On March 23, 1880, the case of Praskovya Kachka, who killed her lover Bayrashevsky out of jealousy, was heard in the Moscow District Court. The essence of the matter was uncomplicated. On March 15, 1879, at a youth party, Praskovya became jealous of her lover for her friend Natalya Skvortsova. Out of her rage, she shot him. Realizing what she had done, Kachka tried to commit suicide, but could not. The court qualified her actions as murder out of jealousy. At the trial, Plevako gave a complete and clear psychological analysis of the accused - an orphan childhood, poverty, deceived love. And then he turned to the jury: “Open your arms, I give it to you. Do what your conscience tells you. If your heart tells you that she washed away sin, resurrect her. Let your sentence be her new birth to a better, wiser life of suffering. Do not judge with hatred, but with love, if you want the truth. May truth and mercy meet your decision." The court placed Praskovya Kachka for treatment in the hospital.

Often, Plevako spoke in cases of factory riots and in his speeches in defense of workers accused of resisting the authorities, of rampage and destruction of factory property, aroused a feeling of compassion for unfortunate people, "exhausted physical labor, with spiritual forces dead from inaction, in contrast to us, minions of fate, brought up from the cradle in the concept of goodness and in full abundance.

In his court speeches, Plevako avoided excesses, argued with tact, demanding from his opponents "equality in the struggle and battle with equal weapons." Being a speaker-improviser, relying on the power of inspiration, Plevako delivered, along with excellent speeches, relatively weak ones.

He won more than two hundred trials, including the trial in the case of Savva Mamontov. His case was heard in the Moscow District Court in July 1900. Industrialist and philanthropist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov commissioned Russian government began construction in 1894 railway from Vologda to Arkhangelsk. He invested all his savings in it, but they were not enough. I had to borrow from banks. He hoped for the support of the Minister of Finance Witte, who, by government decree, gave him a contract for the construction of the St. Petersburg-Vologda-Vyatka railway. And everything could have turned out if the government had not suddenly abandoned its obligations. It withdrew the concession to build the road.

Mamontov found himself in debt, and shareholders demanded payment of dividends on their shares. The industrialist could not do this. Savva Ivanovich was arrested and taken to the Taganka prison. During a search in his apartment, they found 53 rubles with a note: “I am leaving with the knowledge that I did not intentionally do evil.” At the trial, it became clear that the money was directed to the business, and not to personal needs. The speech of the lawyer at the trial was, as always, brilliant and convincing: “This man is accused of willful embezzlement of millions. But theft and appropriation leave traces. Or is his past full of insane luxury? Or the present unrighteous self-interest? We know that no one, from the prosecution to the most vicious witness, pointed this out. These people believed in him. They believed in his plans, in his star. He was brought up in a school of broad entrepreneurial activity, primarily inspired by the idea of ​​social benefit, success and glory of the Russian cause. He made many mistakes, but these are human mistakes. Mamontov had no malicious intent."

By a court decision, Mamontov was released from custody on the same day.

In his younger years, Plevako was engaged in scientific works: in 1874 he translated into Russian and published a course on Roman civil law in Pukhta. His assistant was after 1894 famous singer L. V. Sobinov. According to his political views, he belonged to the "Union of October 17".

Plevako owned a group of apartment buildings on Novinsky Boulevard; house 18A, built by the order of Plevako by the architect Mikini, was called “Plevako’s house”, retained its exterior and internal layout until the 21st century and received a conservation status in 2018.

Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako died on December 23, 1908 (January 5, 1909), at the age of 67, in Moscow. Plevako was buried with a huge gathering of people of all strata and conditions 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 Vagankovsky cemetery. Since then, an ordinary oak cross stood on the grave of the great Russian lawyer - until 2003, when donations from famous Russian lawyers an original bas-relief depicting F.N. Plevako was created.

Three secrets of the lawyer Plevako

Fedor Plevako's personal life:

Was married twice.

He had two sons from different wives, whose names were the same - Sergey Fedorovich. Later, both Sergei Fedorovich Plevako became lawyers and practiced in Moscow, which often caused confusion.

The second wife is Maria Andreevna Demidova. I met her during the divorce proceedings. Maria divorced millionaire Vasily Demidov from the famous clan of "linen kings". In marriage, Maria Andreevna had five legitimate children with the merchant Demidov. Undertaking to help Demidov's wife, who was seeking freedom from her unloved husband, he himself fell in love with her and created a family with her.

At first they lived in an illegal marriage - Maria was formally Demidov's wife. They had a daughter, Barbara. According to all the laws of that time, Varvara was documented as the daughter of Demidov. Then the son Vasily appeared.

The divorce proceedings lasted 20 years and Plevako lost it.

He registered his daughter Varvara and son Vasily as foundlings, and then adopted them. And the merchant Demidov did not care about all his worries, he even refused money for a "free" ex-wife. The situation was resolved by nature itself - the merchant Demidov died. Plevako himself wrote in a letter to a friend: “Well, my longest twenty-year and most unsuccessful process ended by itself. Vasily Demidov died. It's a pity, of course, he was a good person. Only very stubborn, he never gave a divorce. Washed the same Demidov Plevako, to be sure. Didn't let me win the case. But I don't hold a grudge against him. We should have a wedding."

Plevako owned a group of apartment buildings on Novinsky Boulevard; house 18A, built by the order of Plevako by the architect Mikini, was called "Plevako's house", retained the exterior and internal layout until the 21st century and in 2018 received a conservation status.

The image of Fedor Plevako in the cinema:

The second half of the 19th century is the "golden age" of the Russian legal profession. The judicial reform of 1864 radically changes the system of justice in Russia. Instead of the former secret, closed court, drowning in a sea of ​​papers, open jury trials and an institution of public defenders independent of the state appeared. Among the luminaries of that time, Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako was truly unique - a brilliant speaker who never prepared speeches in advance, but improvised with inspiration and often saved clients from inevitable punishment with his wit alone.

For 40 years of his career, "Moscow Zlatoust" held more than 200 trials, won almost all of them. As a rule, these were the loudest lawsuits in the country. People lined up for Plevako for several years ahead. He was distinguished by good nature and gentleness, he helped the poor for nothing. Moreover, he gave them shelter in his house and paid the costs for the entire duration of the proceedings. He took human suffering to heart and knew how to heartily speak about them in court, as if he had gone through them personally. However, in his life there really were enough tragedies and farce - Anews recalls this.

Fedor grew up as a disenfranchised "outcast" under a false name

Fedor Nikiforovich was born in April 1842 in Troitsk, lost in the Orenburg steppes. His paternal surname is Plevak, his real patronymic is Vasilyevich. He was considered illegitimate, since his parents - a customs official from Ukrainian or Belarusian impoverished nobles and a Kyrgyz or Kazakh serf - were not married in a church. In Russia, until 1902, such children were deprived of all rights and were not considered heirs. The patronymic Nikiforovich and, by the way, the original surname Nikiforov, he inherited from godfather, a runaway serf who served his father. Only at the university did Fyodor Nikiforov obtain permission to take his father's surname, and after graduating, for euphony, he attributed the letter O to it, and he pronounced it with an emphasis on it - Plevako. However, he still went down in history as Plevako.

From childhood, Fedor remembered one particularly humiliating moment: when he, the best second-grader, who amazed with the ability to perform actions with three-digit numbers in his mind, was expelled with disgrace from the exemplary Moscow Commercial School just because he was illegitimate. “God forgive them! They really didn’t know what these narrow-minded foreheads were doing, making a human sacrifice, ”he wrote many years later. He completed his studies at another gymnasium, where his father managed to arrange him after long ordeals through the authorities, at the cost of his own health.

The first "defensive speech" Fedor delivered in infancy - and saved his life

In those days, living in an unmarried marriage was a great shame for a woman, society considered her a harlot. Ekaterina Stepanovna once confessed to her son that, unable to withstand the constant persecution of her neighbors, she grabbed him, a newborn, and ran in despair to drown herself. But on the very cliff, Fyodor began to cry, so much so that he instantly brought the distraught mother to her senses.

Ekaterina Stepanovna

Over time this family history overgrown with fictitious details: as if a woman was stopped by some Cossack and begged to give him a child to raise, and that then he himself, by a lucky chance, met the boy's father himself, who recognized him and returned him home. In such a distorted form, it is still found in the biographies of a lawyer.

Plevako was ugly and awkward, but fabulously transformed on the podium

Already at the age of 25, a graduate of the law faculty of Moscow University became known as a gifted, strong lawyer, and at the age of 28 he was known as one of the best in Moscow. From the first fee, he bought himself a tailcoat for 200 rubles - an unthinkable luxury at that time. Outwardly, he was unsightly: small, slanting, with a sparse beard. But during the performances he looked like an "eagle".

Here is how Plevako was described by his contemporary, illustrious lawyer and judge Anatoly Fedorovich Koni: “The high-cheeked, angular face of the Kalmyk type with wide-spaced eyes, with unruly strands of long black hair, could be called ugly if it were not illuminated by inner beauty, which was seen through in general animated expression, now in a kind, leonine smile, now in the fire and brilliance of talking eyes. 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 to himself.

Plevako failed miserably in his first case

His first client was a moneylender, to whom Fedor pawned a cigarette case in order to celebrate either Christmas or Easter with the proceeds of 25 rubles. He asked a young lawyer to help solve the case for the recovery of a bill, and Plevako immediately made a mistake on the issue of jurisdiction, filing a petition with the District Court instead of the Judicial Chamber. He lost, but not to say "with a bang": he generally liked his performance, and newspapers in their reports mentioned his name for the first time.

Sometimes, by mistake, Plevako's first case is considered another of the early lost cases. His client Alexei Maruev was then found guilty of two forgery and exiled to Siberia, despite the contradictions revealed by the lawyer in the testimony of witnesses.

Plevako lost the biggest case of his life

Indeed, it dragged on for 20 years, and even the "genius of the word" was beyond its power. It was the divorce proceedings of the millionaire Vasily Demidov from the famous clan of "linen kings". It turned into a deep personal drama for Plevako. Undertaking to help Demidov's wife, who was seeking freedom from her unloved husband, he himself fell in love with her and created a family with her.

Maria Demidova

But the relationship could not be legalized until the merchant gave a divorce, and he was stubborn until his death.

Vasily Demidov

The three common children of Plevako and Demidova faced the painfully familiar fate of illegitimate outcasts. Avoiding this at all costs, the lawyer recorded them as foundlings, and only years later he was able to file a petition for the assignment of their native patronymic and surname to them.

The eldest daughter of Plevako and Demidova Varvara

Maria Demidova with their common son Sergei

Already legally married: the Plevako couple with children

Immensely rich, Plevako fell into rampant nobility

From the age of 36, Fedor Plevako earned a lot of money. He bought a luxurious two-story mansion on Novinsky Boulevard and lived a bohemian life - famously drove around Moscow on a troika with bells, rolled grandiose drinking parties with gypsies, to whom he threw thousands, sang songs until the morning. And it happened that he chartered a steamer and set sail on the Volga in a circle of acquaintances and strangers. He said in these cases that, they say, he went to visit a friend in Samara in order to have a good time talking by the fireplace.

Novinsky Boulevard at the beginning of the 20th century. In the depth of the frame, opposite the tram, two side wings of Plevako's house and a garden between them are visible.

At the same time, he never refused poor clients and donated huge sums to the crippled and orphans. But on the other hand, he literally extorted wild fees from merchants, demanding to pay in advance. They tell how a certain rich man, not understanding the word "advance", clarified with Plevako what it is. "Do you know the deposit?" the lawyer asked. - "I know". - "So here's an advance - the same deposit, but three times more."

Plevako was not always sure of the innocence of his clients

One day, a crowd of three thousand gathered to listen to a trial where famous Plevako. Two brothers were tried for theft at a construction site, their guilt was obvious. Everyone waited in awe that after the speech of the lawyer, the attitude towards the defendants would magically change and they would be acquitted. But something unheard of happened: Plevako jumped up and, in the heat of the moment, began to prove their guilt, while refuting his own colleague, the second defender, who managed to speak earlier. The jury immediately returned a verdict: guilty.

A sensational rumor immediately spread around Moscow, as if they themselves higher power they administer justice through Plevako, who enters a state of trance during the trials.

Fedor Nikiforovich himself clarified his position, defending Alexandra Maksimenko in 1890, who was accused of poisoning her own husband. He said bluntly: "If you ask me if I am convinced of her innocence, I will not say yes, I am convinced." I don't want to lie. But I am not convinced of her guilt either. When it is necessary to choose between life and death, then all doubts must be resolved in favor of life.

And yet, Plevako avoided deliberately wrong deeds. For example, he refused to defend the infamous swindler Sofya Blyuvshtein, nicknamed "Sonya - the golden pen."

Shackling Sonya in shackles, 1881

Plevako was not an erudite - he often took humor and ingenuity

Although he was well-read and had an exceptional memory, he was inferior to other luminaries in the depth of analysis, logic and consistency. But he excelled them all in infectious sincerity, emotional power, oratory ingenuity, he knew how to convince and touch, he was a master of beautiful comparisons, loud phrases and unexpected witty antics, which often became the only salvation of his clients. This can be seen from his performances, which are still legendary today.

1. Sinful father

An elderly priest was tried for embezzlement of church money. He himself confessed to everything, the witnesses protested, the prosecutor delivered a murderous speech. Plevako, who made a bet with the manufacturer Savva Morozov in the presence of the witness Nemirovich-Danchenko, that he would put his speech in one minute and the priest would be acquitted, remained silent throughout the meeting, did not ask a single question. When his moment came, he only said, sincerely addressing the jury: “Gentlemen of the jury! For more than twenty years my client has forgiven you of your sins. Now he is waiting for you to forgive him once for his sins, Russian people!” The father was acquitted.

2. The old woman and the teapot

In the trial of the old woman Antonina Pankratyeva, who stole a tin teapot worth 30 kopecks from the merchant’s counter, the prosecutor, wanting to disarm Plevako in advance, himself expressed everything possible in favor of the accused: she herself is poor, and the theft is trifling, and it’s a pity for the old woman ... But the property is sacred , he continued menacingly, it keeps all the improvement of the country, "and if people are allowed to disregard this, Russia will perish." Plevako got up and said: “For a thousand years, Russia has suffered many troubles and tragedies. Mamai went to her, Pechenegs, and Tatars, and Polovtsians tormented her. Napoleon went to her, they took Moscow. Russia endured everything, overcame everything, only grew stronger and grew from trials. But now... The old woman has stolen a teapot worth 30 kopecks, and I feel terrified involuntarily. Holy Russia will not stand such a test, it will surely perish.” Pankratiev was acquitted.

3. A man and a prostitute

Once, Plevako had a chance to defend a peasant whom a prostitute accused of rape in order to recover a substantial amount from him. They were ready to sue him when the lawyer took the floor: “Gentlemen of the jury, if you sentence my client to a fine, then I ask you to deduct from this amount the cost of washing the sheets that the plaintiff stained with her shoes.” The indignant girl jumped up: “He is lying! Am I a pig to dirty the bed? I took off my shoes!” Laughter rose in the hall. Naturally, the man was acquitted.

"Tsar Cannon, Tsar Bell and Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako"

When the brilliant lawyer died at the age of 66 from a broken heart, one of the newspapers wrote: “There were three sights in Moscow: the Tsar Cannon, the Tsar Bell and Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako. Yesterday our city lost one of them.”

He was buried with a huge gathering of people of all classes, both poor and rich, in the cemetery of the Sorrowful Monastery.

Seeing off Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako

When the monastery churchyard was demolished in the Stalin years, out of 2,500 graves, only Plevako's ashes were allowed to be transferred to the Vagankovsky cemetery.

Original dilapidated tombstone

On the modern tombstone of the great Russian lawyer, the biblical truth is carved, which he used in one of his speeches: “Do not judge with hatred, but judge with love if you want the truth.”

Modern bas-relief

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. E.F. Schmidt, invited by Gruzinsky last. After Gruzinsky demanded that his wife stop all relations as a tutor, very quickly becomes close to his wife with a tutor, and fired him himself, the wife declared that it was impossible to continue 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 the 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 - "Gently loving father my husband wants to see his family."

“It was then that the prince, who had not yet left the bed, had to experience terrible grief. Since he hears - the patients are so sensitive - in the next room, the conversation of Schmidt and his wife: they, apparently, perekoresh; 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 good 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 know separation from him "

Plevako claims that he would not have dared to blame the princess and Schmidt, to doom them to the sacrifice of the prince, if they had left, had not boasted of their love, had not insulted him, had not extorted money from him, that this "would be 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 - which father's love will 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, according to witnesses, loaded the guns at night. The prince had a gun, but it was a habit, not an intention. “I affirm,” Plevako said, “that an ambush awaits him there. Linen, refusal, bail, loaded guns of large and small caliber - everything speaks for my idea.”

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 are sacrificed to the animal voluptuousness of a 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 this mood, he rides, approaches the house, knocks on the door. Door.

He is not allowed. The footman speaks of the order not to accept.

The prince conveys that he needs nothing but linen.

But instead of doing it legal requirement, instead of, finally, a polite refusal, he hears scolding, scolding from the lips of his wife's lover, directed towards him, who does not do any insult on his part.

You have heard about this curse: "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 heard from Tsybulin. And the fact that he is capable of all evil - the prince could not help but believe.

He shoots. "But, listen, gentlemen," says the defender, "was there a living place in his soul at that terrible moment." "The prince could not cope with these feelings. They are too legitimate, these are for them" and sacredness. It is not a vicious feeling of malice that rises in their souls, but a righteous feeling of revenge and protection of the violated right. It is legal, it is holy; do not rise it, they are contemptible people, pimps, blasphemers!"

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 oppression over him by the pictures of his family misfortune that disturbed the soul, you would admit that he cannot be blamed for the accusation that is being raised, and his defender is all around guilty of insufficient ability to fulfill the task he has assumed ... "

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

The Omen

The great Russian lawyer F.N. Plevako is credited with the frequent use of the religious mood of jurors in the interests of clients. Once, 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.

Speech 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 that!

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

30 kopecks

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 painted for the jury hard life client, forcing 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 has had to endure many troubles, many trials for 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... The old woman stole an old teapot worth 30 kopecks. Russia, of course, will not withstand this, it will perish irrevocably from this ... "

absolution

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 brief: “Gentlemen of the jury! The matter is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right about everything. The defendant committed all these crimes and confessed to them himself. 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 your confession of 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.

15 years of unfair reproach.

There was in Russia, even in ancient times, the famous lawyer Plevako, who won almost all lawsuits. And then one day a case came to him about the murder of his woman by a 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 irritated itching of his grumpy woman over every insignificant trifle?!
The hall froze, then burst into admiring applause.
The man was acquitted.

One sin

Somehow one priest was tried for some offense. Plevako was asked before the court whether his defense speech was great? To which he replied that his entire speech would consist of one phrase. And now, after the accusatory speech of the prosecutor, who demanded a decent punishment, it was the turn of the defense. The lawyer stood up and said:
- Lord! Remember how many sins the father absolved you in his life, so why don’t we now absolve him of one single sin?!!!
The audience's reaction was appropriate. Pop was acquitted.

I took off my shoes!

In addition to the history of 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 also 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.

20 minutes.

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, without hurrying, 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 eleven. 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 tradeswoman have best watch and better versed in the time than we are with the prosecutor?
The jury deliberated for one minute and acquitted the defendant.

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From the memoirs of Plevako... Once 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 was not only 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 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 highness.
- Lead...
I'm going to the yard. The little man opened a door. Came in, look and do not understand anything. A huge room, on the walls of the shelves, on the shelves of dishes.
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 beat her? The merchant smiled.
- Start, you will 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 dishes with a club with such fury that it’s even a shame 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."

Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako, one of the most famous Russian lawyers, whom his contemporaries called "Moscow Chrysostom".

Here are some examples of Plevako's famous eloquence.

"20 minutes"

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, without hurrying, 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 eleven. 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.

"15 years of unfair reproach"

Once, Plevako got a case about the murder of his woman by one man. Plevako came to court as usual, calm and confident of 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 irritated itching of his grumpy woman over every insignificant trifle?!

The hall froze, then burst into admiring applause.

The man was acquitted.

"Remission of Sins"

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 brief: “Gentlemen of the jury! The matter is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right about everything. The defendant committed all these crimes and confessed to them himself. 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 your confession of 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.

30 kopecks

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 has had to endure many troubles, many trials for 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... The old woman stole an old teapot worth 30 kopecks. Russia, of course, will not withstand this, it will perish irrevocably from this ... "

The old woman was acquitted.

I took off my shoes!

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 also 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 Omen"

The great Russian lawyer F.N. Plevako is credited with the frequent use of the religious mood of jurors in the interests of clients. Once, 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 that!

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

The Georgian case.

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. E.F. Schmidt, invited by Gruzinsky last. After Gruzinsky demanded that his wife stop all relations as a tutor, very quickly becomes close to his wife with a tutor, and fired him himself, the wife declared that it was impossible to continue 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 the 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 his family."

“It was then that the prince, who had not yet left the bed, had to experience terrible grief. Since he hears - the patients are so sensitive - in the next room, the conversation of Schmidt and his wife: they, apparently, perekoresh; 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 good 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 know separation from him "

Plevako claims that he would not have dared to blame the princess and Schmidt, to doom them to the sacrifice of the prince, if they had left, had not boasted of their love, had not insulted him, had not extorted money from him, that this "would be 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 - which father's love will 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, according to witnesses, loaded the guns at night. The prince had a gun, but it was a habit, not an intention. “I affirm,” Plevako said, “that an ambush awaits him there. Linen, refusal, bail, loaded guns of large and small caliber - everything speaks for my idea.”

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 are sacrificed to the animal voluptuousness of a 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 this mood, he rides, approaches the house, knocks on the door. Door.

He is not allowed. The footman speaks of the order not to accept.

The prince conveys that he needs nothing but linen.

But instead of fulfilling his legitimate demand, instead of, 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 curse: "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 heard from Tsybulin. And the fact that he is capable of all evil - the prince could not help but believe.

He shoots. "But, listen, gentlemen," says the defender, "was there a living place in his soul at that terrible moment." "The prince could not cope with these feelings. They are too legitimate, these are for them" and sacredness. It is not a vicious feeling of malice that rises in their souls, but a righteous feeling of revenge and protection of the violated right. It is legal, it is holy; do not rise it, they are contemptible people, pimps, blasphemers!"

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 oppression over him by the pictures of his family misfortune that disturbed the soul, you would admit that he cannot be blamed for the accusation that is being raised, and his defender is all around guilty of insufficient ability to fulfill the task he has assumed ... "

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

Get started!

From the memoirs of Plevako… Once 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 was not only 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 so 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:

That's right, your degree.

I'm going to the yard. The little man opened a door. Came in, look and do not understand anything. A huge room, on the walls of the shelves, on the shelves of dishes.

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:

Get started.

What to start?

Like what? Dishes to beat!

Why beat her? The merchant smiled.

Start, you will 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 dishes with a club with such fury that it’s even a shame 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."

Plevako Fedor Nikiforovich (1842-1908) is the largest pre-revolutionary Russian lawyer, whose name is well known not only in our country, but also far beyond its borders. FN Plevako received his legal education at Moscow University. Shortly after the introduction of the Judicial Charters of 1864, he joined the bar and was a barrister at the Moscow Court of Justice. Gradually, from trial to trial, he won wide recognition and fame as an outstanding judicial orator with his smart, heartfelt speeches. He always carefully prepared for the case, knew all its circumstances well, was able to deeply analyze the evidence and show the court the inner meaning of certain phenomena. His speeches were distinguished by great psychological depth, intelligibility and simplicity. He covered the most complex human relationships, sometimes insoluble everyday situations in an accessible, understandable form for listeners, with special inner warmth. In the words of A.F. Koni, it was "... a person whose oratory turned into inspiration."

In court speeches, he did not limit himself to covering only the legal side of the case under consideration. In a number of court speeches, F.N. Plevako touched upon major social issues that were in the field of view and worried the progressive public.

One cannot forget his angry words to Abbess Mitrofania:

“A traveler walking past the high walls of the Vladychny Monastery, entrusted to the moral guidance of this woman, is piously baptized on the golden crosses of the temples and thinks that he is walking past the house of God, and in this house the morning bells raised the abbess and her servants not to prayer, but to dark deeds !

Instead of a temple, there is an exchange; instead of praying people - swindlers and buyers fake documents; prayers together - an exercise in drafting bills of exchange; instead of feats of goodness - preparation for false testimony - that's what was hidden behind the walls.

Monastery walls in our ancient cloisters hide worldly temptations from monks, but Abbess Mitrofania’s is not the same…

Higher, higher, build the walls of the communities entrusted to you, so that the world does not see the deeds that you do under the “veil of the cassock and the monastery! ..”

F. N. Plevako also touches on acute social issues in other speeches. Thus, speaking in defense of the Luthoric peasants who rebelled against inhuman exploitation and immeasurable exactions, he says;

“When we are charged with what is not due, we worry, we lose our self-control; we worry, losing either a small share of our wealth, or something acquired, reparable.

But a peasant has a rare ruble and gets it dearly. With the blood ruble taken away from him, the happiness and future of the family often go away, eternal slavery begins, eternal dependence on world-eaters and the rich. Once a broken household dies, and a laborer is condemned for life to seek, as a beneficence, work from the strong and kiss the hand that gives him a penny for labor, delivering hundreds of rubles to another benefit, kiss, like the hand of a benefactor, and cry, and ask for a new beneficence, new bondage labor for crumbs of bread and miserable rags.

Plevako never counted only on his talent. The basis of his success was great diligence, persistent work on the word and thought.

F. N. Plevako is the most colorful figure among the largest pre-revolutionary lawyers, he stood out sharply with his bright personality among the pre-revolutionary advocacy, which was not poor in talented speakers.

A.F. Koni described Plevako’s talent as follows: “... through the outward appearance of a defender, a tribune appeared, for whom the case was only an excuse and who was hindered by the fence of a particular case, which hampered the flapping of his wings, with all their inherent strength” .

Speaking of Plevako, V.V. Veresaev, in one of his memoirs, conveys the following story about him:

“His main strength lay in intonations, in a genuine, downright magical contagiousness of feeling, with which he knew how to ignite the listener. Therefore, his speeches on paper and in a remote way do not convey their tremendous power.

A priest who committed a serious crime, in which he was fully exposed, was tried, and the defendant did not deny guilt.

After the prosecutor's thunderous speech, Plevako spoke. He got up slowly, pale and agitated. His speech consisted of only a few phrases ...

“Gentlemen, jurors! The matter is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right in everything - the defendant committed all these crimes and confessed to them. What is there to argue about? But I draw your attention to this. Before you sits a man who for THIRTY YEARS let go of all your sins in confession. Now he is waiting for you: will you forgive him his sin? And sat down. Speaking about another case, Veresaev writes:

“Prosecutors knew the power of Plevako. The old woman stole a tin teapot worth less than 50 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 Plevako's defense speech and himself expressed everything that could be said in defense of the old woman: poor old woman, bitter need, insignificant theft, the defendant does not cause indignation, but only pity. But property is sacred. All our civic amenities rest on property, if we let people shake it, 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 and 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 lady stole an old teapot worth 30 kopecks. Russia, of course, will not withstand this, it will perish irrevocably from this.

But not only the jury succumbed to the charm of Plevako's great talent, and crown judges often found themselves in the pit of his great, strong and subtle psychological influence.

Comparisons and images of Plevako are very strong, convincing, deeply memorable. Figurative comparisons further enhance the impression of his spectacular speeches.

Plevako's speech in defense of Bartenev in the case of the murder of the actress Visnovskaya is a brilliant example of Russian judicial eloquence. It differs exclusively in psychological depth, a subtle analysis of the state of mind of the murdered and the defendant. This speech is impeccable in its style and is highly artistic. An analysis of the psychological state of a young, successful artist and the defendant is given with exceptional depth and talent.

Almost without examining the issues of the corpus delicti, and the circumstances of the case did not require this, Plevako, with the brush of a great artist, figuratively paints the environment in which the crime matured.

This speech deeply and truthfully depicts the inner and external world young, beautiful, talented actress Wisnowska, who successfully performed on the stage of the Warsaw Imperial Theater. Skillfully touching and showing the inner springs of mental discord of a young, highly successful woman, Plevako truthfully depicts the situation of the crime.

This speech rightfully gained fame far beyond the borders of Russia.

From the speeches presented in the collection, the reader can get a sufficient impression of the work of this talented lawyer and outstanding judicial orator.