Fyodor Plevako. Fyodor Plevako - biography, information, personal life Famous lawyer Plevako

"Yesterday the remarkable artist of words, the greatest of Russian judicial orators, fell silent forever."
After reading this headline of a Moscow newspaper of the early 20th century, not everyone will be able to understand who will now be discussed, and those in the know could already guess that it will be about Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako, a well-known Moscow lawyer, a perfectionist in oratory.
Let's start with the very inception of such a thing as oratory and jury.
In the course of judicial reforms under Alexander II, when the New Judicial Charters were approved, such a concept as a jury was born and at the same time such a concept as a legal profession appeared. A striking example of the legal profession at that time in Russia was just the person who will now be discussed, namely Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako.

Fedor Nikiforovich was born on April 25 (13 according to the old style), 1842 in the city of Troitsk, Orenburg province (now the Chelyabinsk region) in the family of a member of the Troitsk customs, court adviser Vasily Ivanovich Plevak.
Why Fedor himself decided to take the patronymic Nikiforovich is still unclear.
The letter "O" at the end of his surname Fedor also added himself already at the University, and demanded that his surname after that sounded with an emphasis on "O".
The very origin of the surname "Plevak (-o)" is interesting. Most likely it is formed from a similar nickname, which is akin to the word "spit" in the meaning of "look down". Accordingly, it can be assumed that the founder of the clan was a proud, important person.
It is also possible that the name Plevako is based on the nickname "Gobber", associated by meaning with the common noun "spit", that is, "a person who has a habit of spitting often." In this case, the nickname "Gobber" indicates the peculiarities of the ancestor's behavior. The change in the final "-a" to "-o" can be explained by the influence of the dialects on the appearance of the Plevako surname.
The family of the future great lawyer was also unique in that Vasily Ivanovich's wife was Kalmyk or Kyrgyz (not determined exactly), although she was baptized. Their marriage was not approved by the church, so Fedor and his brother Dormidont were considered illegitimate.

When Fyodor was six years old, he already freely read the works of such great Russian poets and writers as A. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov and I. A. Krylov, known to all of us. Father annually went on vacation to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and brought new books to his sons, Fedor and his brother Dormidont (who, by the way, later became a doctor). The children were first educated at home, from the age of seven Fedor began to attend a parish school, and from 8 to 9 he studied at a district school. For his academic success he was appointed class auditor.
Having retired in June 1851, V. I. Plevako decided to move to Moscow to continue his sons' studies. On June 19, having said goodbye to Troitskoye, the whole family set off and a month later arrived at the white stone. On Ostozhenka they rented an apartment of several rooms and purchased furniture.
The boys were assigned to the first grade of the Moscow Commercial School, located there, on Ostozhenka. The brothers studied excellently, and their names were placed on the "golden board of honor", but after 1.5 years, when it turned out that they were illegitimate, they were expelled from the educational institution in disgrace.
To continue their education, after much trouble, they were placed in the First (Polivanovskaya) Gymnasium, located on Prechistenka, immediately into the third grade. Fedor graduated from the gymnasium, according to some sources in 1859 and even with a gold medal, according to others - in 1858. During his studies, he finally developed an interest in Russian literature, his own style of speech.
Perhaps, having faced a gross injustice in childhood, Plevako chose his future professional path - to become a lawyer. That is why, after graduating from high school, Fedor enters the law faculty of Moscow State University. The first three years of the university F. Plevako was listed as a volunteer and only in the senior years began to study full-time. Many researchers associate this with the need to financially support an impoverished family, earning money through tutoring and translations. It was then that Fyodor translated the book of the German lawyer GF Pukhta "The Course of Roman Civil Law". Later, having already become a well-known lawyer, he published the translation at his own expense, accompanied by numerous comments.
Living in Moscow, Fedor had a huge social circle. In the courts, he showed that he reliably knew both the life of an ordinary cook and the life of a wealthy merchant.
In 1864 FN Plevako graduated from the university and, having received the degree of candidate of law, started looking for work. At the same time, the judicial reforms of Alexander 2 were under way. The judicial reform, perhaps the most progressive and consistent of the undertakings of Alexander II, proclaimed the principles of all-estate, publicity and adversarial nature of the parties. The formation of these principles in the judicial process required the creation of a new special institution - the Bar (attorneys at law). Plevako was one of the first to sign up as an assistant to the attorney at law MI Dobrokhotov. Having shown himself in criminal proceedings as a gifted lawyer, Fyodor Nikiforovich on September 19, 1870 was admitted to the jury attorneys of the Moscow judicial chamber. Since that time, he began his brilliant ascent to the heights of the lawyer's fame. The first client of Fedor was the usurer, to whom he gave his things as a pledge. Plevako lost this case. And this was the last thing that Fedor Nikiforovich lost.
An interesting fact: Fyodor Nikiforovich began any of his statements at the trial with the words "Gentlemen, but it could have been worse!" Many tried to deliberately catch him, entrusting the most difficult cases, so that he could not utter this phrase. Once, the court heard the case of a man who raped his own daughter. The judge, getting ready to give the floor to Plevako, asked: "Well, at least now you won't be able to say your famous words?"
To which Plevako replied: “Gentlemen, it could have been worse! He could have caught your daughter! "
At the moment, a large number of lawyers are active in Moscow. Most of them charge a lot of money for their services, even knowing that the people who turn to them may not have them. But if we remember Fyodor Nikiforovich, we will see that this person was ready to take on any business and often absolutely free. This makes him very different from many of today's lawyers. If we talk about protecting people in court, then we can safely say that Fedor Nikiforovich often did not adhere to the codes of law. Of course, they were present in his speech, but to a greater extent he used his own approach to the matter, using words from the Gospel and knowledge of the history of the “Russian state”, he turned his speech into a very light and convincing saying, on which the court had already passed a verdict.
FN Plevako was distinguished by a rare combination of the gift of improvisation and a sense of humor, which manifested itself in many of his witticisms and puns. He often presented his epigrams and parodies on paper. It is known that he was published in Moscow magazines under the pseudonym Bogdan Poberezhny. In 1885 he tried to publish his own newspaper Life in Moscow, but quickly went bankrupt.
The lawyer's circle of friends and acquaintances included writers, artists and artists, including: M.A. Vrubel, K.A.Korovin, K. S. Stanislavsky, V. I. Surikov, F. I. Shalyapin, M. N. Ermolova, L. V. Sobinov. From time to time, Plevako arranged grandiose dinners or concerts at home with the invitation of colleagues, scientists and artists.
Surprisingly, such a well-known lawyer avoided political activities in every possible way. Only in 1905, at a time of general euphoria that gripped society after the publication of the Manifesto on October 17, Plevako decided to join the Constitutional Democratic Party. However, the Cadets refused him, considering that Plevako and party discipline are incompatible concepts. Then he signed up for the "Octobrists" party and was elected from it as a deputy of the Third State Duma. November 20, 1907 Plevako made a speech at the first session of the Duma.
Already during the election campaign, Fyodor Nikiforovich was very ill. He returned to Moscow from St. Petersburg so sick that in the spring of 1908 the doctors did not let him go for treatment in Karlsbad (a resort in the Czech Republic).
FN Plevako died on the morning of December 23, 1908, at the age of 65. The obituary published in the Niva magazine says: “Plevako was justly considered a brilliant lawyer. His name was“ Moscow Zlatoust, ”and this epithet perfectly defined Fyodor Nikiforovich as a judicial orator and as a person ... Plevako was a man of great intelligence , heart and talent, spontaneously powerful, not always even. All of Russia spoke about Plevako. " FN Plevako was buried in the cemetery of the Sorrowful Monastery (now the Church of the All-Merciful Savior). In the 1930s. FN Plevako's ashes were reburied at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow.
On the day of his funeral, thousands of people came to see the great public defender on his last journey. Representatives of all classes of ranks marched in an endless funeral procession.

Despite the great importance of this man for Moscow, his memory was preserved only in the cemetery. On October 17, 2003, at the Vagankovskoye cemetery, at the grave of the great Russian lawyer Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako, a monument was erected in the alley between the 5th and 6th sections.

On the left - the inscriptions:
Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako and M.A. Plevako is his wife,

On the right - the inscriptions:
1. N.V. Martynova - daughter of M.A. Plevako from his first marriage
(with V. Demidov),
2. V.E. Martynov - husband of N.V.
3. Varvara F. Plevako - daughter of F.N. and M.A. Plevako.
The erection of the monument became possible thanks to the joint efforts of lawyers, sculptors and journalists. It was hard to believe that until that day, under an earthen hillock crowned with a lopsided oak cross with a worn inscription, the remains of the great lawyer lay, and I am sure that all Muscovites are glad that this mistake was finally corrected. But his house on Bolshoy Afanasyevsky Lane was demolished in 1993.
A small but stylish one-story wooden house with a mezzanine in one of the Arbat lanes. In the "post-fire" house, built according to the "exemplary" project in 1817 by ensign E.F. Akinfieva, once the participants of the Patriotic War of 1812, brothers Fedor and Nikolai Akinfiev lived. Since 1841, the house belonged to the well-known Moscow historian P.V. Khavsky, and later, in the 1870s, to the famous lawyer F.N. Plevako. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the house received a fashionable treatment, in which one could feel the influence of the nascent Art Nouveau style. The lane was decorated with sculptures of Atlanteans and Caryatids on the main facade.
In the early 1990s, the empty house gradually came to an emergency state: the decor collapsed, the meso-nine began to lurch into the interior of the building. Despite the calls of historians and local historians to save the valuable monument of the history and culture of Moscow, the building restoration project was never implemented - the Plevako house was demolished. In 2003 he was excluded from the list of identified objects of cultural heritage "due to complete physical loss."

Unfortunately, now at 35/37 Bolshoy Afanasyevsky Lane there is the most ordinary apartment building.

In conclusion, I would like to describe several of his court cases, in which we can most clearly see the mind and talent of this person.

1. Once a case came to Plevako concerning the murder of his wife by one man. The lawyer came to the court as usual, calm and confident of success, and without any papers or cheat sheets. 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 a dead silence in the hall. The lawyer again:
- Gentlemen of the jury!
There was a small rustle in the hall, but the speech did not begin. Again:
- Gentlemen of the jury!
Here in the hall the dissatisfied rumble of the long-awaited long-awaited spectacle of the people swept through the hall. And Plevako again:
- Gentlemen of the jury!
Something unimaginable 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 to unfair reproaches and irritated itching of his grumpy woman for 15 years over every insignificant trifle ?!
The audience was numb, then burst into delighted applause. The peasant was acquitted.
2. Once Plevako defended an elderly priest accused of adultery and theft. It seemed that 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 rose from his seat.
His speech was short: “Gentlemen of the jury! The point is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right in everything. The defendant committed all these crimes and himself confessed to them. What is there to argue about? But I would like to draw your attention to the following. Before you sits a man who for thirty years has forgiven you your sins in confession. Now he is waiting from you: will you forgive him his sin? "
There is no need to clarify that the priest was acquitted.
3. And here is a case described by Fyodor Nikiforovich himself.
Once a wealthy Moscow merchant turned to him for help. Plevako says: "I heard about this merchant. I decided that I would break up such a fee that the merchant would be horrified. And he not only was not surprised, but said:
- You just win the case for me. I'll pay what you said, and I'll give you pleasure.
- What is the pleasure?
- Win the case - you will 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?
- You will look, you will see.
- It's Sunday. The merchant came to pick me up. We are going to Zamoskvorechye. I think where he is taking me. There are no restaurants here, no gypsies. And the time is not right for these things. We went some side streets. There are no residential buildings around, only barns and warehouses. We drove up to a warehouse. There is a little man at the gate. It’s either a watchman or an artel worker. They got off.
Kupchina asks the peasant:
- Ready?
- That's right, your degree.
- Lead ...
We go through the yard. The little man opened a door. We entered, I look and do not understand anything. A huge room, shelves along the walls, dishes on the shelves.
The merchant sent the peasant away, stripped the fur coat and offered me to take it off. I undress. The merchant went to the corner, took two hefty clubs, gave one of them to me and said:
- Get started.
- What to start?
- Like what? Break the dishes!
- Why beat her? The merchant smiled.
- Begin, you will understand why ... The merchant went up to the shelves and broke a pile of dishes with one blow. I hit it too. He broke it too. We began to beat the dishes and, imagine, I went into such a rage and began to smash the dishes with a club with such fury that it’s even a shame to remember. Imagine that I really experienced some wild, but acute 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 got it. "
On this I will end my story. I hope that it was interesting for you to learn about this great lawyer Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako. Thank you for attention!

He acted as a defender at major political trials:

• The Case of the Luthoric Peasants (1880)
• The case of the Sevsk peasants (1905)
• The case of the strike of workers of the factory of the Partnership of S. Morozov (1886) and others.
• The Bartenev case
• Georgian case
• The Lukashevich case
• The Maksimenko case
• The case of the workers of the Konshinskaya factory
• The Zamyatnins case
• The Zasulich case (attributed to Plevako, in fact, P.A.Alexandrov was the defender)

Biography

Fyodor Plevako was born on April 13 (25), 1842 in the city of Troitsk, Orenburg province.

According to some reports, FN Plevako was the son of a nobleman (Pole) and serf Kyrgyz woman of Kaisak (Kazakh) origin. Father - court councilor Vasily Ivanovich Plevak, mother - serf Ekaterina Stepanova (nee "Ulmesek", from Kazakh "undying"). The parents were not in an official church marriage, so their two children - Fedor and Dormidont - were considered illegitimate. In total, the family had four children, but two died as babies. The patronymic Nikiforovich is taken by the name of Nikifor - the godfather of his older brother. Later, Fedor entered the university with his paternal surname Plevak, and after graduation he added the letter "o" to it, and he called himself with an accent on this letter: Plevako ?.

The Plevakov family moved to Moscow in the summer of 1851. In the fall, the brothers were sent to the Commercial School on Ostozhenka. The brothers studied well, especially Fedor became famous for his mathematical abilities. By the end of the first year of study, the names of the brothers were entered on the "golden plaque" of the school. And six months later, Fedor and Dormidont were expelled as illegitimate. In the fall of 1853, thanks to the long troubles of his father, Fedor and Dormidont were admitted to the 1st Moscow gymnasium on Prechistenka - immediately into the 3rd grade. By the way, in the same year Pyotr Kropotkin entered the gymnasium and also entered the third grade. Many Russian figures who later became famous studied at the same school.

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 found a response in the court speeches of Plevako. They are replete with texts of Holy Scripture and references to the teachings of the holy fathers. Nature has endowed Plevako with a wonderful gift of speech.

There was no more original speaker in Russia. 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), the attorney at law, Prince A. I. Urusov, spoke out against Plevako, whose passionate speech excited the audience. Plevako had to blot out the impression unfavorable for the defendant. He countered the harsh attacks with well-founded objections, calm tone and rigorous analysis of evidence. In all its splendor and original strength, Plevako's oratorical talent manifested itself in the case of Mother Superior Mitrofaniya, who was accused in the Moscow District Court (1874) of forgery, fraud and misappropriation of other people's property. In this process, Plevako acted as a civil plaintiff, denouncing hypocrisy, ambition, criminal inclinations under the monastic robe. Noteworthy is also Plevako's speech on the case of a 19-year-old girl, Kachka, heard in the same court in 1880, accused of murdering student Bayroshevsky, with whom she was in love.

Often, Plevako spoke out in cases of factory riots and in his speeches in defense of workers accused of resisting the authorities, of rampaging and destroying factory property, aroused a feeling of compassion for unfortunate people, “exhausted by physical labor, with spiritual forces dead from inaction, in contrast to us , to the minions of fate, brought up from the cradle in the concept of goodness and in full prosperity. " In his court speeches, Plevako avoided excesses, argued with tact, demanding from his opponents "equality in struggle and battle on an equal footing." As an orator-improviser, relying on the power of inspiration, Plevako delivered, along with excellent speeches, relatively weak ones. Sometimes in the same trial, one speech was strong, the other was weak (for example, in the Meranville case). In his younger years, Plevako was also engaged in scientific work: in 1874 he translated into Russian and published a course in Roman civil law of Puchta. After 1894, the famous singer L.V. Sobinov was his assistant. According to his political views, he belonged to the "Union of October 17".

Plevako owned an apartment building on Novinsky Boulevard, and this house was named as Plevako's house - and it is still called that.

Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako died on December 23, 1908 (January 5, 1909), at the age of 67, in Moscow. Plevako was buried in the presence of a huge gathering of people of all strata and states in the cemetery of the Sorrow Monastery.

In 1929, it was decided to close the monastery cemetery, and to organize a playground in its place. The remains of Plevako, by the decision of relatives, were reburied at the Vagankovsky cemetery. From that time on, an ordinary oak cross stood on the grave of the great Russian lawyer - until 2003, when donations from famous Russian lawyers were used to create an original bas-relief depicting FN Plevako.

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

In the history of the legal profession of the Russian Empire, there is no more striking personality than Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako, - a person who left a vivid mark in the memory of his contemporaries. He deserved such an attitude with his enormous talent, and the name Plevako itself became synonymous with eloquence.

He was born on April 13, 1842 in the town of Troitsk, Orenburg province, into a noble family.

The future lawyer began his career as an intern at the Moscow District Court (from 1862-1864). Since 1866 Plevako F.N. in the sworn advocacy: assistant to the attorney at law, since October 1870, attorney at law of the district of the Moscow Court of Justice.

Soon Plevako F.N. gained fame as an outstanding lawyer and court speaker.

Wit, resourcefulness, the ability to instantly react to the enemy's remark, to stun the audience with a cascade of unexpected images and comparisons, to the point of sarcasm - all these qualities were abundantly demonstrated by Plevako.

A characteristic feature of his speeches was improvisation, Plevako never prepared his speeches, but acted according to the situation, based on the audience gathered, the place and time of the consideration of the case. Journalists were constantly present at the trials with his participation, eagerly catching every word he said.

Plevako had a habit of starting all his speeches with the phrase: "Gentlemen, it could have been worse." He never changed his phrase. One day, Plevako undertook to protect a man who had raped his daughter. The hall was full as usual, everyone was waiting for the lawyer to start his speech. Really with a favorite phrase? It's incredible. Plevako stood up and said coolly: "Gentlemen, it could have been worse." The hall roared. The judge himself could not stand it. “What,” he cried, “tell me, what could be worse than this abomination?” “Your honor,” asked Plevako, “what if he had raped your daughter?”

The history of law practice includes many cases with the participation of Plevako, when his mind and ingenuity helped to achieve the desired result. Here are a few of them.

Once Plevako participated in the defense of an old woman, whose fault was that she stole a tin teapot worth 50 kopecks. The prosecutor, knowing who would be the lawyer, decided in advance to paralyze the influence of the defender's speech, and he himself expressed everything that could be said in favor of the defendant: poor old woman, bitter need, insignificant theft, the defendant causes not indignation, but only pity. But property is sacred, and if people are allowed to encroach on it / the country will perish. After listening to the prosecutor, Plevako got up and said: “Russia had to endure many troubles and trials during its more than a thousand-year existence. Pechenegs tormented her, Polovtsy, Tatars, Poles. Twelve languages ​​fell upon her, took Moscow. Russia overcame everything, only got stronger and grew from trials. But now, now ... the old woman stole a kettle worth 50 kopecks. Russia, of course, will not be able to withstand this; from this it will perish irrevocably.

The old woman was acquitted.

Once Plevako defended a man whom a woman of easy virtue accused of rape and tried to receive a significant amount, allegedly for the injury. At the same time, the plaintiff argued that the defendant lured her into a hotel room and raped her there. The man, however, stated that everything was in good agreement. The last word remained with Plevako.

- Gentlemen of the jury, If you award my client to a fine, then I ask you to deduct from this amount the cost of washing the sheets that the plaintiff has soiled with her shoes.

The woman jumps up and shouts:

- Not true! I took off my shoes!

There is laughter in the hall.

The client was acquitted.

The priest was tried. The guilt has been proven. The defendant himself confessed everything and repented.

A defender stood up, Plevako: “Gentlemen of the jury! The point is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right in everything. The defendant himself confessed to all the crimes. What is there to argue about? But I would like to draw your attention to the following. Before you sits a man who for thirty years forgave you your sins in confession. Now he expects from you: "Will you forgive him his sins !?"

The priest was acquitted.

Plevako's personality combined integrity and sweepingness, nihilism and religiosity (Plevako was an amateur and expert in church chants), simplicity in everyday life and riotous lordship (Plevako arranged feasts on specially chartered steamers from Nizhny Novgorod to Astrakhan). Taking huge fees from wealthy clients, Plevako defended the peasants of the village of Lutorichi, who had revolted, free of charge (in addition, he paid the costs of maintaining all of them for three weeks of trial).

The Plevako House has always been the center of the social and cultural life of Moscow at the end of the 10th I X early XX century.

Plevako died on January 05, 1909 in Moscow. Buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery.

(1842-1908)

Throughout the history of the national legal profession, there has never been a more popular person in it than F.N. Plevako. And experts, jurists, and ordinary people, common people, valued him above all lawyers as a "great orator", "a genius of the word", "senior hero" and even a "metropolitan of ad-vocatura". His surname itself became a household name as a synonym for an extra-class lawyer: "I'll find another" Gobber "- they said and wrote without any irony." Letters to him were addressed as follows: “Moscow. Novinsky Boulevard, own house. To the main defender Plevake. " Or simply: “Moscow. Fedor Nikiforovich ".

The literature about Plevako is more extensive than about any other Russian lawyer, a major two-volume edition of his speeches has been published, but his life, work and creative heritage have not yet been properly studied. Almost not considered, for example, his speeches in political trials. About how poorly even his admirers from specialists know Ple-wako - today's lawyers,lawyers, says the following fact. In 1993 a collection of his speeches was published in 30,000 copies. In the annotation to the collection (p. 4), it is indicated that “speeches, mostly previously unpublished,” are being printed, and the editor-in-chief of the collection, the well-known lawyer Henry Reznik, specially noted the famous speech of Plevako at the trial of peasants p. Lutorichi: “Due to the fact that this speech was published, it is not included in this collection” (p. 25). Meanwhile all 39 speeches, included "in this collection" were published in a two-volume edition of 1909-1910. and are now reprinted from there without reference to the two-volume edition. By the way, G.M. Reznik refers in the collection of 1993 (repeatedly: pp. 33, 37, 39) to a short essay about Plevako from the book of V.I. Smolyarchuk "Giants and cha-rodei words", not knowing that Smolyarchuk published a separate (ten times larger) book "Lawyer Fyodor Plevako" ...

Fedor Nikiforovich was born on April 13, 1842 in the town of Troitsk, Orenburg province (now Chelyabinsk region). His parents were a member of the Troitsk customs, court adviser Vasily Ivanovich Ple-wah from the Ukrainian noblemen and the serf Kirghiz Ekaterina Stepanova, with whom Plevak gave birth to four children (two of them died as babies), but did not legalize the marriage. How the illegitimate future "genius of the word" received a patronymic and surname ( Nikiforov) by the name of Nicephorus - the godfather of his older brother. Later, he entered the university with his father's surname Plevak, and after graduating from the university he added the letter "o" to it, and he called himself with a shock on this letter: Plevako. “So,” concludes on this occasion the biographer of Fyodor Nikiforovich, “he has three surnames: Nikiforov, Plevak and Plevako.”

In Troitsk, from 1849 to 1851, Fedor studied at parish and district schools, and in the summer of 1851 the Plevako family moved to Moscow. Here

Fedor Nikiforovich will now live his whole life. In the fall of 1851, he began to study at a commercial school.

The Moscow Commercial School on Ostozhenka was considered exemplary at that time. Even the persons of the royal family, upon their arrival in Moscow, honored him with their visits, tested the knowledge of their students. Fedor and his older brother Dormidont studied excellently, their names by the end of the first year of study were entered on the "golden board" of the school. At the beginning of the second year, the school was visited by Prince Peter of Oldenburg (the nephew of two tsars - Alexander I and Nicholas I). He was told about Fedor's ability to solve orally and quickly complex problems with three-digit and even four-digit numbers. The prince himself tested the boy's abilities, praised him and two days later sent him candy as a gift. And on the new year, 1853, Vasily Plevak was told that his sons were expelled from the school as ... illegitimate. Fedor Nikiforovich will remember this humiliation for the rest of his life. Many years later he would write about this in his autobiography: “We were declared unworthy of the very school that praised us for our successes and exhibited the exceptional ability of one of us in mathematics. God forgive them! They really didn’t know what these narrow-minded foreheads did when they made human sacrifice. ”

In the fall of 1853, thanks to the long troubles of his father, Fyodor and Dormidont were admitted to the 1st Moscow gymnasium on Prechisten-ke - immediately into the 3rd grade. During his studies at the gymnasium, Fedor buried his father and brother, who did not live to be 20 years old. In the spring of 1859 he graduated from the gymnasium and entered the law faculty of Moscow University. As a student, he translated into Russian the "Course of Roman Civil Law" by the outstanding German lawyer Georg Friedrich Puchta (1798-1846), which he would later thoroughly comment on and publish at his own expense.

In 1864, Plevako graduated from the university with a candidate of law degree, but did not immediately decide on the calling of a lawyer: for more than six months he served on a volunteer basis as an intern in the Moscow District Court, waiting for a suitable vacancy. When, according to the “Regulations” on October 19, 1865 on the introduction of the Judicial Charters of 1864, in the spring of 1866 a sworn advocacy began to form in Russia, Plevako was one of the first in Moscow to register as an assistant to the attorney at law M.I. Dobrokhotov. In the rank of assistant, he managed to prove himself as a gifted lawyer in criminal proceedings, among which the case of Alexei Maruev on January 30, 1868 in the Moscow District Court stood out. Maruev was accused of two forgeries. Plevako defended him. Fyodor Nikiforovich lost this case (his client was found guilty and exiled to Siberia), but Plevako's defensive speech - the first of his surviving speeches - has already shown his strength, especially in the analysis of witness slips. “They,” Plevako said about the witnesses in the Maruev case, “do not respond with remembrance, but one ascribes to the other what the other, for his part, ascribes to the former.<...>So strong are the contradictions, so they mutually destroy themselves in the most essential questions! What faith can there be in them ?!»

On September 19, 1870, Plevako was admitted to the jury of attorneys of the Moscow court chamber, and from that time began his brilliant ascent to the heights of legal glory. True, two years later it almost ended because of his political “unreliability”.

The fact is that 8 December 1872, the head of the Moscow provincial gendarme office, Lieutenant General I.A. Slezkin reported to the manager of the III department A.F. Shultz that a "secret legal society" was opened in Moscow, created with the aim of "acquainting students and young people in general with revolutionary ideas", "to find ways to print and lithograph forbidden books and distribute them, to have constant relations with foreign figures ". According to intelligence reports, the society consisted of "students of the law faculty of all courses who had declared themselves in favor of socialism, graduated from the course and left at the university, candidates for rights, attorneys at law and their assistants, as well as former students, mainly lawyers." “At present,” the chief of the Moscow gendarmerie reported, “the said society already has up to 150 full members.<...>Among the main names is the attorney at law Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako, who replaced the value of Prince Alexander Urusov among the students ”, and a number of other names are listed below: S.А. Klyachko and N.P. Tsakni (members of the revolutionary-populist society of the so-called Tchaikovites),V.A. Goltsev (later a prominent public figure, editor of the magazine "Russian Thought"), V.A. Wagner (later a prominent scientist-psycho-logician) and others .

Seven months later, on July 16, 1873 I.A. Slezkin notifiedA.F. Shultz that "the named persons are being closely monitored and all sorts of measures are taken to obtain factual data, which could serve as a guarantee for the detection of both the persons who made up the secret legal society, as well as all its actions." ... As a result, it was not possible to find such data, “which could serve as a guarantee ...”. The case of the "secret legal society" was closed, its alleged "full members" escaped reprisals. But Plevako from that time until 1905 pointedly avoided "politics". The only one of the leading figures of the domestic legal profession, he never once acted as a defender at political, in the strict sense of the word, trials where Narodniks, Narodnaya Volya, Social Democrats, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Cadets, etc. were tried. He agreed to speak several times only at trials in cases of various kinds of "riots" with a political connotation.

The first such case for him was the so-called. The “Okhotnoryadoye affair” of 1878 about students who staged a demonstration of solidarity with political exiles in Moscow, were beaten by the police and put on trial for resisting the beating. The authorities qualified the case as “street riots” and entrusted it to the Peace Court. The political nature of the case was revealed at the trial by the accused (among them was a well-known populist, since 1881 an agent of the Executive Committee of the “Narodnaya Volya” P.V. Gortynsky). They were actively supported by the attorney at law N.P. Shubinsky is Plevako's associate in the legal profession and (in the future) in membership in the Octobrist party. Fyodor Nikiforovich spoke carefully at this trial, knowing thatnot only the courtroom (in the Sukharev tower), but also the approaches to it are filled with young radicals, and the alleys and streets around the tower are filled with police detachments. Much more boldly he stood up for the rioters-peasants in the sensational Luthorich affair.

In the spring of 1879, the peasants from. The Lutorichs of the Tula province rebelled against their enslavement by the neighboring landowner, the Moscow provincial leader of the nobility in 1875-1883. Count A.V. Bobrinsky (from the Bobrinsky family - from the illegitimate son of Empress Catherine II A.G. Bobrinsky). The riot was suppressed by the forces of the troops, and its "instigators" (34 people) were brought to trial on charges of "resisting the authorities." The case was considered by the Moscow Court of Justice with co-representatives in December 1880. Plevako took upon himself not only the defense of all the accused, but also "the costs of their maintenance during the three weeks of the trial." His defense speech (1.300-312) sounded a formidable accusation against those in power in Russia. Having defined the position of the peasants after the reform of 1861 as "half-starved freedom", Plevako, with figures and facts in his hands, showed that life in Lutorichi had become "a hundred times harder than pre-reform slavery." Predatory boars from the peasants so outraged him that he exclaimed at gr. Bobrinsky and his manager A.K. Fisher: "It is a shame for the time in which such people live and act!" As for the accusation of his defendants of instigating a riot, Plevako told the judges: “There were instigators. I found them and I am giving them to your justice. They- instigators, they- instigators, they- the cause of all causes. Poverty is hopeless<...>lawlessness, shameless exploitation, leading everyone and everything to ruin - here they are, the instigators! "

After Plevako's speech in the courtroom, according to the testimony of an eyewitness, "the applause of the agitated, shocked listeners was greeted." The court needed to acquit 30 out of 34 defendants. A.F. Koni believed that Plevako's speech at this trial "was, according to the conditions and moods of that time, a civil feat."

Plevako spoke out just as boldly and loudly at the trial of the participants in the historic Morozov strike of the workers of the Nikolskaya Manu-invoice, the Morozov factory owners at st. Orekhovo (now the town of Orekhovo-Zuevo, Moscow region). This was the largest and most organized strike at that time ("a terrible riot of tens of thousands of workers") with 7 Until January 17, 1885, it was partly political in nature: it was led by the working-class revolutionaries P.A. Moiseenko, B. C. Volkov and A.I. Ivanov, and among the demands of the strikers presented to the governor was “a complete change in the conditions of employment between the owner and the workers according to the published state law "1. The strike case was heard at two trials in the Vladimir District Court in February (about 17 accused) and in May 1886 (about 33 more). At the first of them, on February 7, the main accused - Moiseenko and Volkov - were defended by Plevako.

And this time, as in the Lutorich case, Plevako acquitted the defendants, qualifying their actions as compelled"Protest against the lawless arbitrariness" on the part of the exploiters of the people and the authorities behind them (1.322-325). “The factory administration, contrary to the general law and the terms of the contract,” emphasized Fyodor Nikiforovich, “does not heat the establishment, the workers stand at the machine at 10-15 degrees of cold. Do they have the right to leave, refuse to work in the presence of illegal actions of the owner, or should they freeze to death as a hero? The owner, contrary to the contract, does not give the agreed work, he does not calculate according to the condition, but according to his will. Should the workers be stupidly silent, or can they separately and together refuse to work unconditionally? I believe that the law protects legitimate the interests of the owner, against the lawlessness of the workers, and does not take under his protection every owner in every possible arbitrariness. " Shaving the position of the Morozov workers, Plevako, according to the memoirs of P.A. Moiseenko, uttered words that were not included in the published text of his speech: "If we are indignant when we read a book about black slaves, now we are faced with white slaves."

The court heeded the arguments of the defense. Even Moiseenko and Volkov, the recognized leaders of the strike, were sentenced to only 3 months in prison, 13 people were sentenced to arrest from 7 days to 3 weeks, and 2 were acquitted.

Subsequently, Plevako at least twice acted as a defender in cases of workers' "riots" with a political connotation. In December 1897, the Moscow Court of Justice considered the case of the factory workers N.N. Konshina in the city of Serpukhov. Hundreds of them rebelled against the inhuman working and living conditions, began to smash the quarters of the factory bosses and were pacified only by armed force, while showing "resistance to the authorities." Here Plevako raised and clarified a very important - both legally and politically - the question of the relationship between personal and collective responsibility for the trial (I. 331-332). “An act of lawlessness and intolerance has been committed,” he said. - The mob was the culprit. And the crowd is not judged. Su-dyat several dozen people seen in the crowd. This is also a kind of crowd, but already a different, small one; that was formed by mass instincts, this - by investigators and accusers.<...>All the predicates, the most bitingly depicting the riot of the masses, were attributed to the crowd, the crowd, and not to individual people. And we judge individuals: the crowd is gone. " And further: “The crowd is a building, people are bricks. The same bricks are used to build a temple to God, and a prison - the dwelling of the outcast.<...>The crowd infects. Persons entering it become infected. Beating them is like fighting an epidemic by scourging the sick. " ...

As a result, the court in this case also determined the minimum sentences for the defendants.

As for the trial in the Moscow Court of Justice in the spring of 1904 in the case of workers' “riots” at the A.I. Baranov, then defenders, liberal representatives of the so-called. "Young advocacy": N.K. Muravyov, N.V. Teslenko, V.A. Maklakov, M.L. Mandelstam. Together with them, at their invitation, he defended the workers of Plevako. Unlike his colleagues, who tried to turn the trial into "the first lesson of political grammar, a school of political education" for the defendants, Fyodor Nikiforovich acted, according to Mandelstam's recollections, outside politics: "His defense did not sound revolutionary, but" universal "notes. He was not addressing the masses of the workers. He spoke to the privileged classes, convincing them to lend a helping hand to the workers out of a sense of philanthropy. " It even seemed to Mandelstam that Plevako spoke sluggishly, that he was "tired of life," "the eagle no longer spreads its wings." But six months later, in November of the same 1904, Plevako again looked like an "eagle".

This time the trial was clearly political, although without the participation of any revolutionaries, and the accusation itself was formulated apolitically: "slander." The editor-publisher of the newspaper "Grazhdanin" pr. V.P. Metsersky, the plaintiff was the Oryol marshal of the nobility M.A. Stakhovich (a close friend of the Tolstoy family), and Plevako andV.A. Maklakov acted as the plaintiff's attorneys, supporting the prosecution. The essence of the case was that Stakhovich wrote an article protesting against the torture that the police subjected their victims to. This article, after being rejected by three censored bodies, was published in the illegal journal P.B. Struve "Liberation" with the proviso: "without the consent of the author." Meshchersky, in No. 28 of his newspaper for 1904, viciously cursed Stakhovich and his "intention to cast an accusatory shadow on the administrative power", "cooperation with a revolutionary publication", "an insult to patriotism, almost equal to writing sympathetic telegrams to the Japanese government" (at that time the Russo-Japanese War was going on).

Plevako literally praised Stakhovich, emphasizing "all the purity of intentions, all the correctness of the means by which a true citizen of his country fights untruth, discloses it and calls for correction," and condemned (in solidarity with Maklakov) "the police understanding of life" by Meshchersky ... He ranked Stakhovich in the "camp" of Minin and Pozharsky, and Meshchersky - in the "camp" of Malyuta Skuratov (I. 289). Plevako's concluding words about Meshchersky sounded like anathema: “He will not prove to honestly thinking Russian people that Stakhovichi are undesirable and only Meshcherskys are needed. We've had enough of Meschersky alone, God forbid there are more people like Stakhovich!<...>Appreciate the deed of the prince, and let the name of the slander-nickname be added to his ancient name! " (I. 293).

The speeches of Plevako and Maklakov on the Meshchersky case made the more impression that all educated Russia knew then: Prince Meshchersky not only symbolizes an extreme reaction, he - for all the odiousness of his reputation in society 2 - is reputed to be the “mentor of the two sovereigns” (Alexander III and Nicholas II), who favored Meshchersky and subsidized his newspaper as “the royal organ”, “the desktop newspaper of the kings”. The court (we must give him his due) did not engage in politics: it found the tsarist "mentor" guilty of libel and ordered him to be arrested for two weeks in the guardhouse.

Plevako's speeches at political (to one degree or another) processes make it possible to see in him a “commoner democrat,” as A.F. Horses, especially since Fyodor Nikiforovich himself spoke directly about himself: "I AM man of the 60s ”. But, I think, V.I. Smolyarchuk exaggerated, believing that Plevako was a “deep democrat” not only "in his character", but also in his "prevailing worldview". Koni had in mind not Plevako's worldview, but his democratic, raznochin “habits”, the responsiveness and simplicity of his communication “in all strata of Russian society”. Plevko's ideological democracy was not deep, but rather broad, not so much conscious, how much spontaneous. An illegitimate child from a mixed marriage, an "outcast", in his own words, he became a real state councilor (4th class of the Table of Ranks, corresponding to the military rank of major general), gained access to higher spheres, was friends with such bison from the mighty of the world, as the general controller T.I. Phi-lippov ("a cynic of morality and vile servility to those who could be useful to him") and a fierce hater of any democracy, the chief prosecutor of the Synod K.P. Pobedonostsev.

However, Plevako's friendship with Pobedonostsev did not have an ideological support. A.V. Volsky saw Plevako's own handwritten "evil" epigram on Pobedonostsev:

Pobedonostsev for the Synod,

Dinners at court,

The informers for the people And the informers he is everywhere

Pobedonostsev, for his part, not in vain, “when I saw a photograph of Plevako with young lawyers (from the“ unreliable ”. -AND.T.), said: "You need to hang them all, not take pictures."

Avoiding after the case of 1872-1873. about the "secret legal society" and before the 1905 revolution of any "politics", Plevako clearly showed himself not as a democrat, but as a HUMANIST. Convinced that "the life of one person is more precious than any reforms" (II. 9), he stood up for impartial justice: "Before the court, everyone is equal, even if you be a generalis-simus!" (1.162). At the same time, he considered mercy necessary and natural for justice: “The word of the law resembles the threats of a mother to her children. As long as there is no guilt, she promises cruel punishment to the disobedient son, but as soon as the need for punishment comes, the love of the mother's heart seeks every reason to mitigate the necessary measure of execution ”(1.155). But precisely as a humanist and lover of truth, he denounced before the court any abuse, whether perpetrated by spiritual tycoons "under the cover of a cassock and cloister" or by the "dogs" of a police investigation under the command of the authorities "Atu him!" (I. 161, 175; II. 63).

The now forgotten poet-democrat Leonid Grave (1839-1891 ) He dedicated to Fyodor Nikiforovich the poem "In a crowd of fools, heartless and cold" with the following lines:

Take a look around: the whole world is bound by evil

In the hearts of people, enmity has reigned for centuries ...

Do not be afraid of them! With a fearless brow Go to the battle for the right of man.

Let's return to the topic of politics in the life and work of Plevako. The Tsar's manifesto on October 17, 1905 inspired him with the illusion of closeness of civil liberties in Russia. With youthful enthusiasm, he rushed into politics: he asked his colleague in the legal profession V.A. Maklakov to "enroll" him in the Constitutional Democratic Party. He (who was one of the founders and leaders of the party) refused, reasonably considering that "Pleva and the political party, party discipline are incompatible concepts." Then Plevako joined the Octobrist Party. From them he was elected to the III State Duma, where, with the naivete of an amateur politician, he called on the Duma members to replace “songs about freedom with songs of freeworkers erecting the edifice of law and freedom ”(this speech on November 20, 1907 was his first and last speech in the Duma: 1.367-373). As is clear from the memoirs of N.P. Karabchevsky, Plevako even considered the project “to modify the royal title in order to emphasize that Niko-Lai II was no longer an absolute Russian tsar by God's grace, but a limited monarch,” but did not dare to declare this from the Duma rostrum.

The Duma (it turned out, the deathbed) turn of Plevako's career puzzled and upset his colleagues, students, friends as a "misunderstanding". Today the lawyer is GL4. Reznik is trying to dispute this fact, because, they say, “there are no (? - N. T.) reasons to suspect the insincerity of a firm (? - I. T.) in the convictions of a liberal ”, which was Plevako. Alas, V.A. Maklakov and N.P. Karabchevsky knew better than Reznik that it was precisely the firmness in the political convictions of Fyodor Nikiforovich that was lacking.

So, in the sphere of politics, Plevako did not become any noticeable figure, but in the sphere of law he is truly great as a lawyer and judicial orator, who shone at trials mainly in criminal (in part and in civil) cases.

Plevako was a unique orator - as they say, from God. True, unlike other luminaries of the jury bar - such as A.I. Urusov, S.A. Andreevsky, N.P. Karabchevsky (but matched VD SpasOvich and PA Aleksandrov), he was poor in external data. “The cheeky, angular face of the Kalmyk type with wide-set eyes, with disobedient strands of long black hair could have been called ugly, if it had not been illuminated by the inner beauty that shone first in a general animated expression, then in a kind, lion's smile, then in the fire and sparkle of talking eyes. His movements were uneven and sometimes awkward; the lawyer's coat was sitting awkwardly on him, and the whispering voice seemed to run counter to his calling 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. "

The secret of Plevako's oratorical irresistibility was not only and even not so much in the skill of words. “His main strength was in intonation, in the irresistible, downright witchcraft infectiousness of the feeling with which he knew how to ignite the listener. Therefore, his speeches on paper and to a remote extent do not convey their tremendous power. " The aphorism of F. La Rochefoucauld is very suitable for Plevako: "In the sound of the voice, in the eyes and in the whole appearance of the speaker, there is no less eloquence than in the choice of words."

Plevako never wrote the texts of his speeches in advance, but after the trial, at the request of newspaper reporters or close friends, sometimes (“when he was not lazy”) he wrote down the speech he had already said. These records undoubtedly belong to the best texts in his two-volume edition.

The spit-orator was emphatically (like no other) individual-alene. Far from being such an erudite as Spasovich or Urusov (and later 0.0. Gruzenberg), but he was strong with everyday ingenuity and grasp, the "nationality" of the origins of his eloquence. Yielding to Spasovich in the depths of scientific analysis, Karabchevsky in the logic of evidence, Alexandrov in daring, Urusov and Andreevsky in the harmony of words, he surpassed them all in infectious sincerity, emotional power, oratorical ingenuity. In general, according to the authoritative opinion of A.F. Horses, “in Plevako, through the outer guise of a defender, a tribune acted,” who, however, perfectly mastered the threefold vocation of defense: “to convince, to touch, to appease”. "He was a master of beautiful images, cascades of loud phrases, clever lawyer's tricks, witty tricks that suddenly occurred to him and often saved clients from threatening punishment." How unpredictable were the defensive finds of Plevako, can be seen from two of his speeches, about which there were legends at one time: in the protection of a priest who was dismissed for theft, and an old woman who stole a tin teapot.

The first case, according to the well-known Russian and Soviet lawyer N.V. Kommodov was artistically described by a no less famous investigator and writer, "classic" of the Soviet detective L.R. Sheinin. Three decades later, in our time, ML. Aeshchinsky, referring to the fact that the late Sheinin once "told" this story to him, verbatim reproduced Sheinin's publication (which took 15 pages) in his work as if from himself.

The essence of the case with the thieving priest was also briefly described by V.V. Veresaev and V.I. Smolyarchuk. The guilt of the defendant in the theft of the church wrought money has been proven. He himself confessed to it. The witnesses were all against him. The prosecutor made a speech that was fatal for the defendant. Plevako, who made a bet with the factory owner-patron S.T. Mo-rozov (in the presence of the witness Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko) that he would fit his defense speech in one minute and the priest would be acquitted, kept silent throughout the judicial investigation, did not ask any of the witnesses a single question. When his moment came, he only said, addressing the jury with his characteristic sincerity: “Lord, the jury! For more than twenty years, my client has forgiven you your sins. Once you let him go, Russian people! " The priest acquitted the priest.

In the case of the old woman who stole the kettle, the prosecutor, wishing to paralyze the effect of Plevako's defensive speech in advance, himself expressed everything possible in favor of the accused (she herself is poor, the theft is trivial, I feel sorry for the old woman), but stressed that the property is sacred, it is impossible to encroach on it, because it keeps all the improvement of the country, "and if you allow people not to reckon with it, the country will perish." Ple-vako got up: “Russia has suffered many troubles, many trials during its more than a thousand-year existence. Pechenegs tormented her, Polots, Tatars, Poles. Twelve languages ​​fell upon her, took Mos-Kvu. Russia endured everything, overcame everything, only grew stronger from the trials and grew. But now, now ... The old woman stole a tin teapot worth 30 kopecks. Russia, of course, will not be able to withstand this, it will perish from this ”. The old woman was acquitted.

And here is a little-known case. A certain landowner ceded part of his land to the Crest-Yans by agreement with them - for the fact that they paved a convenient road from his estate to the highway. But the landowner died, and his heir refused to accept the agreement and again took the land from the peasants. The peasants rebelled, set fire to the manor, slaughtered the cattle. The rioters were brought to justice. Plevako undertook to protect them. The trial was swift. The prosecutor thundered against the accused with thunder and lightning, and Plevako kept silent. When the floor was given to the defense, Fyodor Nikiforovich turned to the jury (all of them from local landowners) with the following words: “I do not agree with Mr. Prosecutor and I find that he demands extremely lenient sentences. For one defendant, he demanded fifteen years of hard labor, and I think this term should be doubled. And add five years to this ... And to this ...To disaccustom the peasants once and for all to believe the word of the Russian nobleman! "The jury issued an acquittal.

A number of criminal trials with Plevako's participation acquired, mainly due to his speeches, an all-Russian resonance. The first of these in time was the Mitrofaniev trial, that is, the trial of the Mother Superior of the Serpukhov Monastery Mitrofaniya, which aroused interest even in Europe. In the world, Baroness Praskovya Grigorievna Rosen, daughter of the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812 and governor in the Caucasus in 1831-1837. General of Infantry and Adjutant General G.V. Rosen (1782-1841), a lady-in-waiting of the royal court, she had her hair cut as a nun in 1854, and from 1861 she ruled in the Serpukhov monastery. For 10 years, the abbess, relying on her connections and closeness to the pair, stole more than 700 thousand rubles through fraud and forgeries (the amount was colossal at that time).

The investigation into the Mitrofania case was started in St. Petersburg by A.F. Koni (at that time the prosecutor of the Petersburg district court), and tried her on October 5-15, 1874, the Moscow districtalreadyNoah court chaired by P.A. Deyer. Plevako, as an attorney for the victims, became the chief prosecutor of the abbess and her monastic assistants at the trial. Confirming the conclusions of the investigation, refuting the arguments of the defense, he said: “A traveler walking past the high walls of the sovereign monastery, devoutly baptized himself on the golden crosses of churches and thinks that he is walking past the house of God, and in this house the morning bell raised the abbess and her servants not to prayer, but to dark deeds! Instead of a temple - a stock exchange, instead of a praying people - swindlers, instead of prayer - exercises in drawing up eyelids, instead of deeds of good - preparations for false testimony; that's what was hidden behind the walls.<...>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 cover of your robe and monastery! " (II. 62-63). The court found Abbess Mitrofania guilty of fraud and forgery and sentenced her to exile in Siberia.

At the sensational trial of P.P. Kachki in the Moscow District Court March 22-23, 1880 Plevako flashed in the more familiar role of the defendant's defender. Here - not in fact, but in the circumstances accompanying it - the political aspect was partly visible. The fact is that the 18-year-old noblewoman Praskovya Kachka was a paddle of the populist propagandist N.E. Bitmida and rotated in a "marginal" environment. On March 15, 1879, at a youth party (gathering?) In the apartment of a prominent populist P.V. Gortynsky (in 1878, who was tried in the "Okhotsk Ryad" case) Kachka shot her lover, student Bronislav Bayrashevsky, and tried to kill herself, but could not. The court qualified the case as murder out of jealousy.

Plevako, giving a psychologically masterful analysis of everything the accused had experienced over her 18 years (orphan childhood, “physical ill health,” deceived love), appealed to the mercy of the jury: “Look at this 18-year-old woman and tell me that Is she an infection that needs to be destroyed, or an infected one that needs to be spared?<...>Judge not with hatred, but with love, if you want the truth. Let, according to the happy expression of the psalmist, truth and mercy meet in your decision, truth and love kiss each other! " (I. 43).

The court ordered to place Kachka in hospital for treatment. Probably the treatment has goneherfor good. Five years later, V.G. Korolenko saw her at the pier in Nizhny Novgorod among the passengers - “roughened and powdered,” cheerful.

Perhaps in the most difficult position for himself, Plevako, as a defender, found himself at the trial of Alexander Bartenev in the Warsaw District Court on February 7, 1891, but it was here that he delivered one of his most brilliant speeches, which is invariably included in all collections of samples Russian judicial eloquence.

On June 19, 1890, Cornet Bartenev shot the popular artist of the Imperial Warsaw Theater Maria Visnovskaya in his apartment. The investigation established that the killer and his victim loved each other. Bartenev was jealous of Visnovskaya, but she did not really believe in his love. According to Bartenev, confirmed by Visnovskaya's notes, they agreed on the last evening to die: he would kill her, and then himself. Bartenev, however, having shot her, did not shoot himself. He not only did not deny the fact of the murder, but voluntarily reported it to his superiors immediately after the incident.

Plevako, at the very beginning of his three-hour (!) Defense speech (I. 136-156), explained what the defense was seeking — not to acquit the accused, but only to mitigate the "measure of the punishment deserved by the accused." Not allowing himself to cast the slightest shadow on Visnovskaya's reputation (although even the prosecutor spoke of “dark spots” in her life), Fyodor Nikiforovich very subtly “anatomized” Bartenev's crime: “Bar-shadow went all to Visnovskaya. She was his life, his will, his law. If she said, he would sacrifice his life.<...>But she told him to kill her before killing himself. He carried out a terrible order. But as soon as he did this, he was lost: the owner of his soul was gone, there was no longer that living force that, at its own will, could push him to good and evil. " At the end of his speech, Plevako exclaimed: "Oh, if the dead could give a voice in matters concerning them, I would have sent Bartenev's case to the court of Visnovskaya!"

Bartenev was sentenced to 8 years in hard labor, but Alexander III replaced him with hard labor by demotion to the ranks.

Perhaps the greatest public outcry of all the criminal cases involving Plevako was caused by the unusual case of S.I. Mamontov in the Moscow District Court with a jury on July 31, 1900 Savva Ivanovich Mamontov (1841 - 1918) - an industrial magnate, the main shareholder of a railway and two factory companies - was one of the most popular patrons of art in Russia. His estate near Moscow, Abramtsevo, was an important center of Russian artistic life in the 1870s and 1890s. Here I.E. Repin and V.I. Surikov, V.A. Serov, V.M. Vasnetsov, V.D. Polenov, K.S. Stanislavsky, F.I. Chaliapin. In 1885, Mamontov founded the Moscow Private Russian Opera at his own expense, where he first showed himself as the great singer Sha-Lyapin, and N.I. Zabela-Vrubel, N.V. Salina, V.A. Lossky and others. In the fall of 1899, the Russian public was shocked by the news of the arrest and imminent trial of Mamontov, his two sons and his brother on charges of embezzlement (“embezzlement and embezzlement”) of 6 million rubles from the funds of the Moscow-Yaroslavl-Arkhan- Gel railway.

The trial in the Mamontov case was led by the chairman of the Moscow district court N.V. Davydov (1848-1920) - an authoritative lawyer, close friend and consultant to L.N. Tolstoy, who suggested the plot to the writerplays "Living Corpse" and "The Power of Darkness". The assistant prosecutor of the Moscow Court of Justice P.G. Kurlov (future commander of the Separate Gendarme Corps). Among the witnesses were the writer N.G. Gaga-rin-Mikhailovsky (author of the tetralogy "The Childhood of the Theme", "Gymnasium Students", "Students", "Engineers") and the director of the Private Opera K.S. Winter is the sister of the opera diva T.S. Ayubatovich and two revolutionaries-populists, convictsB. C. and O.S. Ayubatovich.

To protect his friends V.I. Surikov and VD. Polenov invited Plevako. The other defendants were defended by three more masters of the national legal profession N.P. Karabchevsky, V.A. Maklakov and N.P. Shu binsky.

The central event of the process was Ple-vako's defense speech (II. 325-344). Fyodor Nikiforovich with a trained glance immediately determined the weakness of the main point of the accusation. “After all, embezzlement and appropriation,” he said, “leave traces: either the past of Savva Ivanovich is full of insane luxury, or the present is of unrighteous self-interest. And we know that no one pointed this out. When, looking for the appropriated, the judiciary with the speed caused by the importance of the case entered his house and began to look for illegally plundered wealth, she found 50 rubles in her pocket, an obsolete railway ticket, a stamp German banknote. " The defender showed how grandiose and patriotic the accused's plan was to build a railway from Yaroslavl to Vyatka in order to “revive the forgotten North”, and how tragic, because of the “unfortunate choice” of the executors of the plan, the generously financed operation turned into losses and collapse ... Mamontov himself went bankrupt. “But judge, what was there? - asked Plevako. - Predator crime or calculation error? Robbery or slip? An intention to harm the Yaroslavl road or a passionate desire to save its interests? "

Plevako's final words were, as always, as resourceful as they are effective: “If you believe the spirit of the times, then -“ Woe to the vanquished! ” But let this vile expression be repeated by the pagans, at least according to the metric she was listed as Orthodox or reformers. And we will say: "Mercy to the unfortunate!"

The court recognized the fact of embezzlement. But all the defendants were acquitted. The newspapers published Plevako's speech, quoted it, commented: "Plevako freed!"

Fedor Nikiforovich himself explained the secrets of his success as a defender very simply. First secret: he was always literally filled with a sense of responsibility towards his clients. “There is a huge difference between the position of a prosecutor and a defense attorney,” he said at the trial of S.I. Mamontov. - Behind the prosecutor is a silent, cold, unshakable law, behind the back of the defender - living people. They rely on their defenders, climb onto their shoulders and ... it's scary to slip with such a burden! " (II. 342). In addition, Plevako (perhaps like no one else) knew how to influence the jury. He explained this secret to V.I. Surikov: “But you, Vasily Ivanovich, when you paint your portraits, you strive to look into the soul of the person who is posing for you. So I try to penetrate with my gaze into the souls of the jury and deliver a speech so that it reaches their consciousness. "

Was Plevako always convinced of the innocence of his clients? No. In his defense speech in the case of Alexandra Maksimenko, who was accused of poisoning her own husband (1890), he bluntly said: "If you ask me if I am convinced of her innocence, I will not say" yes, I am. " 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 ”(i. 223). However, lawyer Plevako, apparently, avoided knowingly wrong cases. So, he refused to defend the notorious swindler Sophia Bluestein, nicknamed Sonya - the golden pen, and it was not in vain that he had a reputation among the accused by Pravyka.

Of course, Plevako's strength as a judicial orator consisted not only in resourcefulness, emotionality, psychologism, but also in the liveliness of the word. Although his speeches have lost a lot on paper, they still remain expressive. Plevako was a master at paintingcomparisons(About the appointment of censorship: these are nippers that "remove on-garge with candles, not quitting her fire and light");antitheses(about the Russian and the Jew: “our dream is to eat five times a day and not become too heavy, it - five times a day and not grow thin”: I. 97,108); spectacularappeal(to the shadow of the murdered colleague: "Comrade, peacefully sleeping in a coffin!", to the jury in the case of P. P. Kachka: "Open your arms - I will give her to you!"

Critics attributed the compositional scattering and, especially, the "banal rhetoric" of some of his speeches to the shortcomings of Plevako's oratorical manner. The originality of his talent did not appeal to everyone. Poet D.D. Minaev, admitting back in 1883 that Plevako was a lawyer, “known everywhere for a long time, like the star of his native zodiac,” wrote a biting epigram about him:

Is there a scribe somewhere,

Will it happen where there is a fight in the tavern,

Will he come to judgment from the darkness

Public cesspool thieves,

Will a bully push the lady,

Will a dog bite anyone

Does the zoil-spitter possess,

Who saves them all? -Plevako .

Ironically, although not without reverence ("in the field of swear words, the frantic brute-cutter"), Plevako is also presented in the dictionary-album of P.TO.Martyanov, as well as in the epigram of A.N. Apukhtina: "You know, in the state-raised anger it is destined to be like this: in St. Petersburg - Pleve, and in Moscow - Plevako."

Did not like Fedor Nikiforovich M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, who, by the way, slandered the legal profession as a "cesspool." In 1882, he told the Moscow notary and writer N.P. Orlov (Severov): “I met him at A.N. Pypin and say: "Is it true that you can put a glass of kvass on your head and dance?" And he goggled his eyes at me and replies: "I can!"

According to D.P. Makovitsky, and A.N. Tolstoy in 1907 called Plevako "the most empty person." But earlier, in a letter to his wife, Sofya Andreevna, dated November 2, 1898, Lev Nikolaevich gave the following response: "Ple-vako is a gifted and rather pleasant person, although not complete, like all specialists." According to the memoirs of P.A. Rossiev, Tolstoy "directed the men to Plevako:" Fyodor Nikiforovich, whitewash the unfortunate. "

Plevako's personality combined integrity and sweepingness, various nihilism and religiosity, everyday simplicity and riotous lordship (he arranged Homeric feasts on steam ships chartered by him from Nizhny Novgorod to Astrakhan). Kind to the poor, he literally squeezed out huge fees from merchants, while demanding advances. Once a certain money-bag, not understanding the word "advance", inquired what it was. "Do you know the deposit?" - Plevako answered the question with a question. "I know". - "So the advance is the same deposit, but three times more."

The following fact testifies to Plevako's attitude to such clients. The merchant of the 1st guild, Persitz, filed a complaint with the Moscow Council of Jury Attorneys that Fyodor Nikiforovich refused to accept him, beat him and let him down the stairs. The council demanded a written explanation from Plevako. The latter explained that he could not receive Persits for family reasons, appointed him another day and asked him to leave. “But Persitz climbed into the rooms,” we read further in the explanation of Plevako. - Then<...>Out of patience by the insolence and insolence of Percy, I took her by the hand and turned towards the exit. Persitz abruptly pushed my hand away, but I turned his back to me, drove the impudent man out of the house, slammed the door and threw him his fur coat into the lobby. There was no need for me to beat him. " The council left the merchant's complaint without consequences.

In a comradely circle, among his colleagues in the lawyer's workshop, Plevako enjoyed the reputation of an "artel man". His companion, hiding under the pseudonym-initial "S", wrote about him in 1895: to everyone around in general. " From his youth and to his death, he was in Moscow an indispensable member of various charitable institutions - such as the Society for Charity, Education and Training of Blind Children and the Committee for Assistance to the Organization of Student Dormitories.

Plevako's likable character trait was his condescension to envious people and spiteful critics. At a feast on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his career as a lawyer, he cheerfully clinked glasses with friends and foes. When his wife was surprised by this, Fyodor Nikiforovich sighed with his usual good nature: "Why should I judge them!"

The cultural needs of Plevako command respect. “His library is all-embracing,” the writer P.A. Rossiev. Plevako valued his books, but he generously distributed them to his friends and acquaintances "to read", in contrast to "book misers" like the philosopher V.V. Ro-zanov, who in principle did not give his books to anyone, saying: "The book is not a girl, she has nothing to walk around."

Judging by the memoirs of B.S. Utevsky, Plevako, although “he was a passionate lover and collector of books,” he himself seemed to “read little”.

IN AND. Smolyarchuk refuted this opinion, proving that he had read a lot of Plevako. True, he did not like fiction, but was fond of literature on history, law, philosophy, and even "on business trips took with him" books by I. Kant, G. Hegel, F. Nietzsche, Cuno Fischer, Georg Jellinek. In general, “he had a kind of gentle and caring attitude to books - his own and those of others,” BS Plevako recalled. Utevsky himself is a great book lover. - He loved to compare books with children. He deeply resented the sight of a disheveled, torn or dirty book. He said that just as there was (it really existed) the "Society for the Protection of Children from Abuse", the "Society for the Protection of Books from Abuse" should be organized and the perpetrators of this attitude towards books should be taken away in the same way, how children are taken away from their abusive parents or guardians. "

Fyodor Nikiforovich was not just well-read. From his youth, he was distinguished by a rare combination of exceptional memory and observation with the gift of improvisation and a sense of humor, which was expressed in cascades of ostrots, puns, epigrams, parodies - both in prose and in poetry. His satirical impromptu "Antiphones", composed "in a few minutes", P.A. Rossiev published in No. 2 of the Historical Bulletin for 1909 (pp. 689-690). Plevako published a number of his feuilletons in the newspaper of his friend N.P. Pastukhov "Moskovsky leaf", and in 1885 he started publishing his own newspaper "Life" in Moscow, but "the enterprise was not successful and stopped in the tenth month."

It is no coincidence that the circle of Plevako's personal ties with masters of culture was very wide. He communicated with I.S. Turgenev, Shchedrin, Leo Tolstoy, was friends with V.I. Surikov, M.A. Vrubel, K.A. Korovin,K.S. Stanislavsky, M.N. Ermolova, F.I. Shalyapin and other writers, artists, actors, with the book publisher I.D. Syty-nym. Fyodor Nikiforovich loved all kinds of spectacles, from folk festivals to elite performances, but with the greatest pleasure he attended two "temples of arts" in Moscow - the Private Russian Opera of S.I. Ma-montov and the K.S. Stanislavsky and V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. According to the memoirs of the artist K.A. Korovin, Ple-vako also "loved painting very much and attended all exhibitions."

Great L.V. Sobinov, before becoming a professional singer, served as an assistant to the attorney at law under the patronage of Plevako, and M.N. Ermolova. "She asked me," Sobinov recalled, "if I was going to sing at the Bolshoi Theater." Leonid Vitalievich soon began and sang at the Bolshoi Theater until the end of his life (with small interruptions), but he always retained a sense of respect for his mentor in the legal profession. On November 9, 1928, he wrote to Plevako's son Sergei Fedorovich (junior):"I AMI consider it wonderful your idea to arrange an evening in memory of the late Fedor Nikiforovich. "

It is paradoxical, but true: Fedor Nikiforovich himself, who woredifferent timethree surnames, had two sons with one name, and they lived and advocated in Moscowsimultaneously: Sergei Fedorovich Plevako Sr. (born in 1877) was his son from his first wife, E.A. Philippova, and Sergei Fedorovich Plevako Jr. (born in 1886) - from his second wife, M.A. Demidova.

Plevako's first wife was a folk teacher from the Tver province. The marriage was unsuccessful, and, probably, through the fault of Fyodor Nikiforovich, who left his wife with a young son. In any case, Sergei Fedorovich Plevako Sr. did not even mention his father in his autobiography. But with his second wife, Fedor Nikiforovich lived in harmony for almost 30 years, until the end of his days.

In 1879, Maria Andreevna Demidova, the wife of the manufacturer, turned to Plevako for legal assistance, fell in love with a lawyer and foreverpreferred it to the manufacturer. The famous two-volume book of Fyodor Nikiforovich's speeches was published the very next year after his death in the “Edition of M.A. Plevako ".

One of the main personality traits of Plevako is considered by his biographers to be religious. He was a deeply religious person - all his life, from early childhood to death. Under his faith in God, he brought even a scientific basis. The theological department in his home library was one of the richest. Plevako not only observed religious rites, prayed in church, loved to baptize children of all classes and ranks, served as a churchwarden (church head) in the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral, but also tried to reconcile the "blasphemous" views of L.N. Tolstoy with the dogmas of the official church, and in 1904, at a reception with Pope Pius X, he argued that since God is one, there should be one faith in the world and, therefore, Catholics and Orthodox are obliged to live in good harmony .. ...

Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako died on December 23, 1908, at the age of 67, in Moscow. His death caused special grief, naturally, among Muscovites, many of whom believed that Belokamennaya had five main attractions: Tsar Bell, Tsar Cannon, St. Basil's Cathedral, Tretyakov Gallery and Fyodor Plevako. But the whole of Russia responded to Plevako's departure from life: obituaries were published in many newspapers and magazines. The newspaper "Early morning" on December 24, 1908 put it this way: "Yesterday Russia lost its Cicero, and Moscow lost its Zlatbust."

Muscovites buried "their Zlatoust" in the presence of a huge gathering of people of all strata and states at the cemetery of the Sorrowful Monastery. In the 30s, the remains of Plevako were reburied at the Vagankovsky cemetery.

ON. Troitsky

From the book "Luminaries of the Russian Bar"

Stolichnayaadvocacy. M., 1895.S. 108;A.V. VolskyThe truth about Plevako: RGALI. F. 1822.On. 1. D. 555. L. 11. The "king of the legal profession" in Russia was considered V.D. Spasovich, but he was less popular than Plevako.

Maklakov V.A.F.N. Plevako. M., 1910. S. 4. Admirers of the famous lawyer L.А. Kupernik "glorified" him with the following verse: "Odessa lawyer Kupernik - the well-known idiot rival": GARF. F.R-8420.On... 1.D. 5.L. 11.

Cm.:Maklakov V.A.Decree. cit .;Dobrokhotov A.M.Slava and Plevako. M., 1910;B.A. PodgornyPlevako. M., 1914;Koni A.F.Prince A.I. Urusov and F.N. Plevako // Collected. cit .: In 8 t. M., 1968. T. 5;Ayakhovetskiy A.E Characteristics of famous Russian judicial speakers (V.F. Plevako. V.M. Przhevalsky. N.P. Shubinsky). SPb., 1902;SmolyarchukIN AND. Giants and magicians of the word. M., 1984;He's the same.Lawyer Fyodor Plevako. Chelyabinsk, 1989.

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

For 40 years of its career, "Moscow Zlatoust" has conducted more than 200 trials, won almost everything. As a rule, these were the loudest lawsuits in the country. In line to Plevako lined up 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 expenses for the entire duration of the proceedings. He took human suffering to heart and knew how to tell about them in a heartfelt manner in court, as if he had gone through them personally. However, in his life there were really enough tragedies and farce - Anews recalls this.

Fedor grew up a powerless "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 Vasilievich. He was considered illegitimate, since his parents - a customs official from Ukrainian or Belarusian impoverished nobles and a serf Kyrgyz or Kazakh woman - were not in a church marriage. In Russia, until 1902, such children were deprived of all rights and were not considered heirs. His patronymic Nikiforovich and, by the way, the original surname Nikiforov, came to him from his godfather, a fugitive serf who served his father. Only at the university did Fedor Nikiforov get permission to take his father's surname, and after graduation, for euphony, he attributed the letter O to it, and pronounced it with an accent - Plevako. However, he still went down in history as Plevako.

From childhood, Fedor remembered one particularly humiliating moment: when he, the best second-grader student, who was amazed at his ability to perform actions with three-digit numbers in his mind, was disgracedly expelled from the exemplary Moscow commercial school just because he was illegitimate. “Forgive them God! They really didn’t know what those narrow-minded foreheads did when they made human sacrifice, ”he wrote many years later. He finished his studies at another gymnasium, where his father managed to arrange him after long ordeals in the authorities, at the cost of his own health.

The first "protective speech" Fedor uttered in infancy - and saved his life

In those days, living 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 harassment of neighbors, she grabbed him, a newborn, and in despair ran to drown herself. But on the cliff itself, Fyodor began to cry, so much that he instantly brought his distraught mother to her senses.

Ekaterina Stepanovna

Over time, this family story was overgrown with fictitious details: as if a Cossack stopped the woman and begged to give him the child for upbringing, and that then he himself, by a lucky chance, met the boy's father himself, who recognized him and brought him home. In such a distorted form, she is still found in the biographies of the 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 since 28 he became known as one of the best in Moscow. From the first fee, he bought himself a tailcoat for 200 rubles - an unimaginable 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 described his contemporary, renowned lawyer and judge Anatoly Fedorovich Koni: “A cheeky, angular face of the Kalmyk type with wide-set eyes, with disobedient strands of long black hair, could have been called ugly if it had not been illuminated by the inner beauty that shone through in general animated expression, now in a kind, lion's smile, now in fire and sparkle of speaking eyes. His movements were uneven and sometimes awkward; the lawyer's coat was sitting awkwardly on him, and the whispering voice seemed to run counter to his calling 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 at his first case

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

Sometimes, by mistake, the first thing Plevako does is consider another of the early lost cases. His client Alexei Maruev was then found guilty of two forgeries and exiled to Siberia, despite the contradictions revealed by the lawyer in the testimony of witnesses.

Plevako lost the biggest business of his life

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

Maria Demidova

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

Vasily Demidov

The three common children of Plevako and Demidova were threatened with the painfully familiar fate of illegitimate outcasts. Avoiding this at any cost, the lawyer wrote them down as foundlings, and only years later he was able to apply for assignment of their patronymics and surnames to their relatives.

The eldest daughter of Plevako and Demidova Varvara

Maria Demidova with their common son Sergei

Already legally married: the Plevako couple with children

Having become immensely rich, Plevako fell into a riotous lordship

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

Novinsky Boulevard at the beginning of the 20th century. In the back of the frame, opposite the tram, you can see two side wings of the Plevako house and a garden between them.

At the same time, he never turned down poor clients and donated huge sums to cripples and orphans. But then he literally knocked out wild fees from merchants, demanding to pay in advance. They tell how a certain rich man, not understanding the word "advance", asked Plevako what it was. "Do you know the deposit?" the lawyer asked. - "I know". - "So the advance is the same deposit, but three times more."

Plevako was not always sure of the innocence of his clients

Once a crowd of three thousand gathered to listen to the process, where the famous Plevako performed. Two brothers were tried for embezzlement at the construction site, their guilt was obvious. Everyone was in awe that after the lawyer's speech, the attitude towards the defendants would magically change and they would be acquitted. But an unheard-of happened: Plevako jumped up and, in the heat of the moment, began to prove their guilt, refuting at the same time his own colleague, the second defender, who managed to speak earlier. The jury immediately issued a verdict: guilty.

A sensational rumor immediately spread throughout Moscow that the higher powers themselves were administering justice through Plevako, who entered a state of trance during the trials.

Fedor Nikiforovich himself clarified his position, defending in 1890 Alexander Maksimenko, who was accused of poisoning her own husband. He bluntly said: "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 should be resolved in favor of life. "

And yet Plevako avoided knowingly wrong things. For example, he refused to defend the notorious swindler Sophia Bluestein, nicknamed "Sonya - the golden pen".

Putting Sonya in shackles, 1881

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

Although he was well-read and distinguished by an exceptional memory, he was inferior to other luminaries in the depth of analysis, logic and consistency. But he surpassed them all in infectious sincerity, emotional power, oratorical 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 speeches, which are still legendary.

1. Sinful father

An elderly priest was tried for stealing church money. He himself confessed everything, witnesses opposed, the prosecutor made a murderous speech. Plevako, who made a bet with the manufacturer Savva Morozov in front of the witness Nemirovich-Danchenko that he would put down 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 your sins. Now he is waiting for you to forgive him his sins once, Russian people! " Father was acquitted.

2. The old lady and the kettle

In the trial of the old woman Antonina Pankratyeva, who stole a tin teapot worth 30 kopecks from the merchant's counter, the prosecutor, wishing to disarm Plevako in advance, himself expressed everything possible in favor of the accused: she herself is poor, and the theft is trifling, and I feel sorry for the old woman ... But property is sacred , he continued threateningly, it keeps all the improvement of the country, "and if you allow people not to reckon with this, Russia will perish." Plevako got up and said: “For a thousand years Russia has endured many troubles and tragedies. Mamai went to her, the Pechenegs, the Tatars, and the Polovtsians tormented her. Napoleon went to it, they took Moscow. Russia endured everything, overcame everything, only got stronger and grew from the trials. But now ... The old woman stole a kettle at the price of 30 kopecks, and inevitably I feel terrible. Holy Russia will not withstand such a test, it will definitely perish ”. Pankratyev was acquitted.

3. A man and a prostitute

Once Plevako had a chance to defend a man whom a prostitute accused of rape in order to recover a substantial sum from him. They were about to sue him when the lawyer took the floor: "Gentlemen of the jury, if you award my client to a fine, then I ask you to deduct from this amount the cost of washing the sheets, which the plaintiff soiled with her shoes." The indignant girl jumped up: “He's lying! Why am I a pig dirty bed? I took off my shoes! " Laughter rose in the hall. Naturally, the man was acquitted.

"Tsar Cannon, Tsar Bell and Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako"

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

He was buried in the presence of a huge crowd of people of all classes, both the poor and the rich, in the cemetery of the Sorrow Monastery.

Seeing off Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako

When the monastery churchyard was demolished during the Stalin years, of 2500 burials, only the ashes of Plevako were allowed to be transferred to the Vagankovskoye cemetery.

Original dilapidated headstone

The biblical truth is engraved on the modern tombstone of the great Russian lawyer, 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