Law and Justice: The Russian Social Development in Modern and Contemporary Times
The conflict between positive law and the idea of justice is the permanent driver for transitional social orders. The explanation of the Russian legal system as historical phenomenon is possible only in the context of evolving etymology of key notions ofjustice as moral value, legal phenomenon or historical tradition. On the basis of this approach the author reconstructs genuine characteristics of the Russian legal tradition, the stages of the transformation in process of modernization in the 18-19<sup>th</sup> centuries, the total destruction in the Soviet times and restoration in the Post-Soviet period. The current debate over law and legal consciousness reveals the importance of some elements of the national legal tradition but has not proved the conservative theory of path-dependence in Russian legal and political development. The author argues in favor of a new concept of justice which would be able to overcome the legal dualism, bridge the gap between positive law and conservative mental stereotypes in order to fulfill the necessary liberal social and political reform package.