The history of legal nihilism in Russia: constitutional and legal aspect

The purpose of the article is to analyze the development of nihilistic political and legal views of a significant part of the Russian establishment of the XIX-XX centuries. The article analyzes the reasons and prerequisites that have determined such a widespread skeptical attitude in the domestic establishment towards law, the rule of law, individual rights and freedoms, and legality in general. The views of representatives of a wide variety of beliefs on this subject - conservatives, conservationists, Westerners, Slavophiles, anarchists, Marxists - are analyzed, the refraction of a skeptical attitude to law in their consciousness and creativity depending on their views is reflected. At the same time, it is shown that most of the causes giving rise to legal nihilism are not something immanent in Russia, they are mostly surmountable and are associated with the country’s lagging behind the most advanced legal states. As a rule, the preservation and cultivation of legal nihilism is associated with a delay in our history of necessary reforms. Special attention is paid to the Soviet period, including the years of “perestroika”. The author’s vision of the problem under study from a historical perspective is given, an explanation of why legal nihilism has not yet been overcome is given, and concrete proposals for overcoming it in modern Russia are also contained.