All materials organized under the K--Law class of the Library of Congress Classification System can be requested in the Law Library. The Law Library holds a large number of publications, both contemporary and historic, related to Russian and Soviet law, making it one of the premier places to study the topic in the United States. Materials in the collection include law codes, gazettes, commentaries, journals and monographs. In addition, many of the publications on human rights in Russia are held in the Law Library.
On historic Russian law, the library has outstanding primary sources, including a 1767 copy of Pravda Russkaia, a collection of Russian medieval and customary law, and a 1650 copy of Kormchaia, a collection of ecclesiastical law for the Easter Orthodox Church.
More resources for the 18th century can found with the following subject heading:
For an overview of pre-Revolutionary Russian law, the library has a complete volume set from 1912 devoted to the subject. The library also has copies of decrees, or ukazy, by Russian Imperial leaders, including Peter I, Catherine the Great and Nicholas II.
On Soviet law, resources can be found with the following subject heading:
On contemporary Russian law, the library has copies of the most recent Russian constitution reflecting the amendments passed in 2020 as well the Russian criminal code [ugolovnyi kodeks]. The library also subscribes to a bibliography describing the latest Russian laws.
To find more resources about Russian law, including those pertaining to a specific legal field, see the following subject headings:
In addition, the Law Library subscribes to several Russian legal journals. The most prominent include those listed below. The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.
Gosudarstvo i pravo by Rossiĭskai︠a︡ i︠u︡stit︠s︡ii︠a︡Ugolovnyĭ prot︠s︡essZakon i pravo = Law & legislationZakonnostʹZhurnal rossiĭskogo pravaThe Law Library of Congress contains the world’s largest collection of law books and legal resources. It is a repository for the complete record of American law and holds foreign law materials covering all major national, state, and equivalent jurisdictions. In 1832, the Law Library was officially established to provide the United States Congress and Supreme Court with access to current and accurate legal research materials. Over time, our mission was expanded to include other branches of the U.S. Government, the public, and the global legal community. This evolving mission is supported by a collection of around three million volumes and brings together the expertise of approximately 100 lawyers, librarians, other professionals, and support staff who provide legal reference, research, and analysis using the Law Library’s collection. We also draw upon the collections and expertise of our colleagues throughout the Library of Congress.
