Theoretical sociological analysis of the dynamics of soviet legal institutions

The author discusses the possibilities of using theoretical approaches of western sociology of law for the analysis of Soviet legal institutions. The limitations of some approaches such as the functionalist theory are demonstrated. It is argued that Bourdieu’s sociology of law is highly relevant for the study of the juridical field in the USSR. The formation of the Soviet judicial system is considered in the article. In particular the activities of revolutionary tribunals that were formed soon after the revolution of 1917 are discussed. The article deals with the peculiarities of functioning of Soviet legal institutions in the 1920s and 1930s. The show trials of the end of the 1930s are characterized from the viewpoint of sociological approaches including ethnomethodology. The development of the judicial system is considered in the social context and in interaction with the political institutions. On the whole the legal institutions were directly subordinated to the political structures. Thus the differentiation of political and legal systems was strictly hierarchical. At the same time the formation of jurists as a specific professional group changed the character of the juridical field. The processes of professionalization and bureaucratization of the Soviet legal system since the end of the 1930s are analyzed in the article. The role of statistical indicators in evaluation of the activities of judges is taken into account. It is argued that, from the view point of Bourdieu’s theory, the juridical field in the USSR tended to function as an “apparatus”. The conclusion is made that combining ideas of Bourdieu’s sociology of law and sociology of politics allows us to reveal the peculiarities of the Soviet juridical field.