Russian lawyer plevako. Interesting cases from the practice of the legendary F.N. Plevako. Immensely rich, Plevako fell into rampant nobility

One of the most famous lawyers in our history is Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako (1842 - 1908). He took part in the most famous processes of that time, including political ones, in particular, in the case of the Morozov strike of 1886.

Plevako was known for taking on the protection of both the rich and noble, and ordinary people, making no distinction between them and shining with his eloquence in the trials of the poor no less than in high-profile cases. Stories about the trials involving Plevako have survived to this day, turning into funny and witty anecdotes.

I took off my shoes!

Plevako defended a man accused of rape by a prostitute. The woman demanded a significant amount for the injury. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant lured her into a hotel room and raped her there. The man said that everything was in good agreement. The last word for Plevako.

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

The prostitute jumps up and shouts: “It's not true! I took off my shoes!!!

Laughter in the hall. The defendant is acquitted.

15 years of unfair reproach

One day, Plevako got a case about the murder of his wife by one peasant. Plevako came to court as usual, calm and confident of success, and without any papers and cribs. And so, when the turn came to the defense, Plevako stood up and said:

The noise in the hall began to subside. Plevako again:

Gentlemen of the jury!

There was dead silence in the hall. Lawyer again:

Gentlemen of the jury!

There was a slight rustle in the hall, but the speech did not begin. Again:

Gentlemen of the jury!
Here in the hall swept the discontented rumble of the long-awaited long-awaited spectacle of the people. And Plevako again:
- Gentlemen of the jury!

Here already the hall exploded with indignation, perceiving everything as a mockery of the respectable public. And from the podium again:

Gentlemen of the jury!

Something incredible has begun. The hall roared along with the judge, prosecutor and assessors. And finally, Plevako raised his hand, urging the people to calm down.

The hall froze, then burst into admiring applause. The man was acquitted.

20 minutes

Plevako's defense lawyer is very famous for the owner of a small shop, a semi-literate woman who violated the rules on trading hours and closed the trade 20 minutes later than it was supposed to, on the eve of some religious holiday. The court hearing in her case was scheduled for 10 o'clock. The court left 10 minutes late. Everyone was there, except for the defender - Plevako. The chairman of the court ordered to find Plevako. Ten minutes later, Plevako, without hurrying, entered the hall, calmly sat down at the place of protection and opened the briefcase. The chairman of the court reprimanded him for being late. Then Plevako pulled out his watch, looked at it and declared that it was only five past ten on his watch. The chairman pointed out to him that it was already 20 past ten on the wall clock. Plevako asked the chairman:

And how much is on your watch, Your Excellency?

The chairman looked and replied:

At my fifteen minutes past eleven.

Plevako turned to the prosecutor:

And on your watch, Mr. Prosecutor?

The prosecutor, obviously wishing to cause trouble for the defense counsel, replied with a sly smile:

It's already twenty-five past ten on my watch.

He could not know what kind of trap Plevako set up for him and how much he, the prosecutor, helped the defense.

The trial ended very quickly. Witnesses confirmed that the defendant closed the shop 20 minutes late. The prosecutor asked that the defendant be found guilty. The floor was given to Plevako. The speech lasted two minutes. He declared:

The defendant was indeed 20 minutes late. But, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, she is an old woman, illiterate, and does not know much about watches. We are literate and intelligent people. How are you doing with your watch? When the wall clock shows 20 minutes, the chairman has 15 minutes, and the prosecutor's clock has 25 minutes. Of course, the most faithful watch belongs to Mr. Prosecutor. So my watch was 20 minutes behind, which is why I was 20 minutes late. And I always considered my watch very accurate, because I have gold, Moser.

The jury deliberated for one minute and acquitted the defendant.

Absolution

Somehow one priest was tried for some offense. Plevako was asked before the court whether his defense speech was great? To which he replied that his entire speech would consist of one phrase.

And now, after the accusatory speech of the prosecutor, who demanded a decent punishment, it was the turn of the defense.
The lawyer stood up and said:

Lord! Remember how many sins your father has forgiven you in his life, so why don't we now forgive him a single sin?!!!

The audience's reaction was appropriate. Pop was acquitted.

Poor Russia!

One pillared noblewoman, being ruined, having lost her husband and son, deprived of her estate for debts, lived as a hostess with some lady, then rented a room, and since she did not have a kettle to boil water, she stole it in the market. And she was judged by the crown court (as a noblewoman).

The prosecutor, seeing Plevako, decided: “Yeah. Now he will beat for pity, for the fact that this is a poor woman who has lost her husband, gone bankrupt ... I’ll play on this too. He came out and said: “Of course, I feel sorry for the woman, she lost her husband, son, etc., her heart bleeds, he himself is ready to go to prison instead of her, but ... Lord, the crown court. The point is in principle, she swung at the sacred foundation of our society - private property. Today she stole a kettle, and tomorrow a wagon, and the day after tomorrow something else. This is the destruction of the foundations of our state. And since everything starts small and grows into a huge one, that’s why I ask her to punish her, otherwise it threatens our state with huge disasters, the destruction of its foundations.

The prosecutor broke the applause. Plevako comes out to his place and suddenly turned around, went to the window, stood for a long time, looked. Hall in suspense: what is he watching? Plevako came out and said:

“Dear Crown Court! How many troubles Russia has undergone: Batu trampled it with horses, and the Teutonic knights raped mother Russia, twelve languages, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, approached and burned Moscow. How many misfortunes Russia has endured, but each time she rose, rose like a phoenix from the ashes. And now a new misfortune: the woman stole the teapot. Poor Russia! Is something going to happen to you now?"

Hall laughed. The woman was acquitted.

Don't dare to believe!

One Russian landowner ceded part of his land to the peasants, without formalizing it in any way. After many years, he changed his mind and took the land back. Outraged peasants rioted. They were put on trial. The jury consisted of the surrounding landowners, the rebels were threatened with hard labor. The famous lawyer Plevako undertook to defend them. He was silent throughout the whole process, and at the end demanded that the peasants be punished even more severely. "What for?" - did not understand the judge. Answer: "To forever wean the peasants from believing the word of a Russian nobleman." Some of the peasants were acquitted, the rest received minor punishments.

The Omen

Plevako is credited with the frequent use of the religious mood of jurors in the interests of clients. Once, speaking in the provincial district court, he agreed with the bell-ringer of the local church that he would begin the evangelization for mass with special precision.

The speech of the famous lawyer lasted several hours, and at the end Plevako exclaimed:

If my client is innocent, the Lord will give a sign about it!

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

Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako(April 13 (25), 1842, Troitsk - December 23, 1908 (January 5, 1909), Moscow) - lawyer, lawyer, court speaker, active state councilor.

Biography

According to some reports, F.N. Plevako was the son of a Polish nobleman and a Kalmyk woman from the Orenburg Kalmyk Cossacks. Father - court adviser Vasily Ivanovich Plevak, mother - Kalmyk Ekaterina Stepanova. The parents were not in an official church marriage, so their two children - Fedor and Dormidont - were considered illegitimate. There were four children in the family, but two died in infancy. The patronymic Nikiforovich was taken by the name of Nikifor, the godfather of his older brother. Later, Fedor entered the university with his father's surname Plevak, and after graduating from the university he added the letter "o" to it, and he called himself with an emphasis on this letter: Plevako.

The Plevako 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 listed on the "golden board" of the school. And six months later, Fedor and Dormidont were expelled as illegitimate. In the autumn of 1853, thanks to their father's long efforts, Fedor and Dormidont were admitted to the 1st Moscow Gymnasium on Prechistenka - immediately into the 3rd grade. By the way, in the same year, Pyotr Kropotkin also entered the gymnasium, and also in the third grade. Many Russian figures who later became famous studied at the same school.

Graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow University. He was a candidate for judicial positions in Moscow. In 1870, Plevako entered the class of attorneys at law in the district of the Moscow Court of Justice, which improved his financial situation. He acquired ownership of a house at 35, Bolshoy Afanasevsky Lane (the house was demolished in 1993. See photo of the house). Soon he became known as one of the best lawyers in Moscow, often not only helping the poor for free, but sometimes paying for the unforeseen expenses of his impoverished clients.

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

There was no speaker in Russia more peculiar. Plevako's first court speeches immediately revealed a huge oratorical talent. In the process of Colonel Kostrubo-Koritsky, heard in the Ryazan district court (1871), Plevako was opposed by the barrister Prince AI Urusov, whose passionate speech excited the listeners. Plevako had to erase an unfavorable impression for the defendant. He countered the harsh attacks with sound objections, a calm tone, and a rigorous analysis of the evidence. In all its brilliance and original strength, Plevako's oratorical talent was shown in the case of Abbess Mitrofania, who was accused in the Moscow District Court (1874) of forgery, fraud and embezzlement of other people's property. In this process, Plevako acted as a civil plaintiff, denouncing hypocrisy, ambition, criminal inclinations under a monastic cassock. Also noteworthy is Plevako's speech on the case of a 19-year-old girl, Kachka, who was heard in the same court, in 1880, accused of killing a student Bayroshevsky, with whom she was in love.

Often, Plevako spoke 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 , 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 the struggle and battle with equal weapons." Being a speaker-improviser, relying on the power of inspiration, Plevako delivered, along with excellent speeches, relatively weak ones. Sometimes, in the same process, one speech of his was strong, the other was weak (for example, in the case of Merenville). In his younger years, Plevako was also engaged in scientific work: in 1874 he translated into Russian and published a course on Roman civil law Pukhta. 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 Fedor Nikiforovich (1842-1908) is the largest pre-revolutionary Russian lawyer, whose name is well known not only in our country, but also far beyond its borders. FN Plevako received his legal education at Moscow University. Shortly after the introduction of the Judicial Charters of 1864, he joined the bar and was a barrister at the Moscow Court of Justice. Gradually, from trial to trial, he won wide recognition and fame as an outstanding judicial orator with his smart, heartfelt speeches. He always carefully prepared for the case, knew all its circumstances well, was able to deeply analyze the evidence and show the court the inner meaning of certain phenomena. His speeches were distinguished by great psychological depth, intelligibility and simplicity. He covered the most complex human relationships, sometimes insoluble everyday situations in an accessible, understandable form for listeners, with special inner warmth. In the words of A.F. Koni, it was "... a person whose oratory turned into inspiration."

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

One cannot forget his angry words to Abbess Mitrofania:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Prosecutors knew the power of Plevako. The old woman stole a tin teapot worth less than 50 kopecks. She was a hereditary honorary citizen and, as a member of the privileged class, was subject to a jury trial. Whether along with it or so, on a whim, Plevako acted as the protector of the old woman. The prosecutor decided in advance to paralyze the influence of Plevako's defense speech and himself said everything that could be said in defense of the old woman: poor old woman, bitter need, insignificant theft, the defendant does not cause indignation, but only pity. But property is sacred. All our civic amenities rest on property, if we let people shake it, the country will perish.

Plevako got up.

- Many troubles, many trials had to endure Russia for its more than a thousand years of existence. Pechenegs tormented her, Polovtsy, Tatars and Poles. Twelve languages ​​fell upon her, they took Moscow. Russia endured everything, overcame everything, only grew stronger and grew from trials. But now, now... The old lady stole an old teapot worth 30 kopecks. Russia, of course, will not withstand this, it will perish irrevocably from this.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He soon became known as one of the best lawyers in Moscow, often not only helping the poor for free, but sometimes paying for the unforeseen expenses of his impoverished clients.

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

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

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

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

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

Often, Plevako spoke in cases of factory riots and in his speeches in defense of workers accused of resisting the authorities, of 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 , 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 the struggle and battle with equal weapons." Being a speaker-improviser, relying on the power of inspiration, Plevako delivered, along with excellent speeches, relatively weak ones.

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

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

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

In his younger years, Plevako was also engaged in scientific work: in 1874 he translated into Russian and published a course on Roman civil law Pukhta. 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 a group of apartment buildings on Novinsky Boulevard; house 18A, built by the order of Plevako by the architect Mikini, was called “Plevako’s house”, retained its exterior and internal layout until the 21st century, and in 2018 received a conservation status.

Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako died on December 23, 1908 (January 5, 1909), at the age of 67, in Moscow. Plevako was buried with a huge gathering of people of all strata and conditions in the cemetery of the Sorrowful Monastery. In 1929, it was decided to close the monastery cemetery, and organize a playground in its place. The remains of Plevako, by decision of the relatives, were reburied at the Vagankovsky cemetery. Since that time, an ordinary oak cross stood on the grave of the great Russian lawyer - until 2003, when an original bas-relief depicting F.N. Plevako was created with donations from famous Russian lawyers.

Three secrets of the lawyer Plevako

Fedor Plevako's personal life:

Was married twice.

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

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

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

The divorce proceedings lasted 20 years and Plevako lost it.

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

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

The image of Fedor Plevako in the cinema:

1. "I'll find myself Plevako"

It was this phrase that was said in Russia when someone needed the services of a good lawyer. With this name, people had associations with the public defender, who could be fully relied upon. Why was Fyodor Plevako so convincing in his speeches in court? Why won even, it would seem, the most complex and intricate processes?

2. What captivated Plevako's speeches

The whole point is not only in the correctness of his speech, but also in the construction of statements, organization of the text, composition and emotional coloring. It was not for nothing that in the journal Pravo for 1908 he was compared with Pushkin: “Plevako was a brilliant Russian orator. In this area, he was for us what Pushkin was for Russian poetry. As after Pushkin it became difficult to be a Russian poet, so after It became difficult for Plevako to be a Russian orator."

3. Paradox, but he lost the first case

Despite the fact that Plevako's first case was lost, his name became famous. However, his first court speech was distinguished by skill and showed the talent of the orator. He never spoke sharply and assertively, on the contrary, the validity of his statements, calm tone and evidence captivated listeners, both educated and those who were not versed in oratory.

4. Chekhov about Plevako

Many writers wrote and spoke about him during his lifetime. One of them is Chekhov. Here is what the writer noticed about the orator's talent and the power of his words: "Splendid comes to the music stand, looks at the jury for half a minute and begins to speak. His speech is even, soft, sincere ... There are many figurative expressions, good thoughts and other beauties.. Diction creeps into the very soul, fire looks from the eyes ... No matter how much Plevako says, you can always listen to him without boredom ... "

5. "The case of the old woman."

Plevako's speeches and court cases are studied in many public speaking courses. The case of the old woman who stole the teapot has already become a traditional and textbook example. So, already at the trial, the prosecutor knew that Plevako would defend the old woman and decided to act with cunning: he himself brought arguments in defense of the old woman. The prosecutor said all the mitigating circumstances of the crime: an old woman, poverty, need, the insignificance of the theft ... But he nevertheless emphasized that property is sacred, and if you encroach on it, then the country will perish. What was Plevako's response to this? "Russia had to endure many troubles and trials for more than a thousand years of existence. The Pechenegs tormented her, the Polovtsians, Tatars, Poles. Twelve languages ​​fell upon her, they took Moscow. Russia endured everything, overcame everything, only grew stronger and grew from trials. But now, now ... the old woman has stolen a teapot worth fifty kopecks. Russia, of course, will not be able to stand this, it will perish irrevocably from this. It was this brilliant answer by Plevako, his comparison with the history of Russia, that saved the woman from prison, and the court acquitted her.

6. The most important difference between Plevako and other speakers and lawyers was that he could influence the feelings of listeners, “see” the jury, cause them to cry, laugh, and sometimes ironic smiles.

Two lives of the lawyer Plevako. Documentary. Directed by Stenin M., 2012