Soviet Legal Theory: Vyshinsky, Pashukanis, and the Evolution of Socialist Legality

Soviet legal theory developed as a distinctive branch of Marxist jurisprudence, attempting to reconcile the Marxist critique of law as a bourgeois institution with the practical need for a legal system to govern the world’s first socialist state. The evolution of Soviet legal theory from the early post-revolutionary period through the Stalin era to perestroika reflected the changing political and ideological priorities of the Soviet state and generated theoretical contributions that continue to influence Russian legal thought.

Pashukanis and the Commodity Exchange Theory

Evgeny Pashukanis (1891–1937) was the most influential Soviet legal theorist of the 1920s. His major work, The General Theory of Law and Marxism (1924), developed the commodity exchange theory of law (menovaya kontseptsiya prava). Pashukanis argued that law is a form specific to commodity-producing societies, where relations between formally equal and autonomous individuals are mediated through exchange. The legal subject (subyekt prava) corresponds to the commodity owner, and the legal relationship corresponds to the exchange relationship. Under socialism, Pashukanis argued, law would progressively wither away (otmiraniye prava) as commodity production was replaced by planned production and as the state administration of things replaced the legal regulation of persons. Pashukanis’s theory provided a sophisticated Marxist analysis of the relationship between law and capitalism, but it also raised uncomfortable questions for the Soviet state: if law was a bourgeois form, what role could law play in the construction of socialism? Pashukanis served as Vice-President of the Communist Academy and Director of the Institute of Soviet Construction and Law. He was purged in 1937, executed as an enemy of the people, and his theory was denounced as Trotskyite sabotage.

Stuchka and Class Law

Pyotr Stuchka (1865–1932) developed the class theory of law (klassovaya teoriya prava), which defined law as a system of social relations corresponding to the interests of the ruling class and protected by the organised force of that class. Stuchka’s theory emphasised the instrumental character of law as an instrument of class domination and argued that Soviet law should serve the interests of the proletariat in the transition to communism. Stuchka served as the first Chair of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR and as a leading figure in the Institute of Soviet Law. His two-volume Course of Soviet Civil Law (1927–1931) applied the class theory to the analysis of Soviet civil legislation. Stuchka’s emphasis on the class character of law and the subordination of legal form to class interest influenced the development of Soviet legal doctrine, though his specific positions were later criticised as insufficiently attentive to the role of law in the construction of socialism.

Vyshinsky’s Definition of Law

Andrey Vyshinsky (1883–1954), Procurator General of the USSR and later Minister of Foreign Affairs, developed the definition of law that became the official Soviet legal doctrine in the Stalin era. Vyshinsky defined law as: the aggregate of the rules of conduct expressing the will of the ruling class — the will of the working class and the toiling masses in the socialist state — established by legislation and also of customs and rules of community life sanctioned by state authority, the application of which is ensured by the coercive force of the state for the purpose of protecting, strengthening, and developing social relations and arrangements that are advantageous and desirable for the ruling class. This definition rejected Pashukanis’s withering away of law thesis, affirmed the positive character of law as the will of the ruling class expressed in legislation, and emphasised the role of state coercion in ensuring compliance.

Vyshinsky’s definition provided the theoretical foundation for the Stalinist legal order. It justified the use of law as an instrument of state policy, the subordination of legal procedure to political objectives, and the reliance on confession as the queen of evidence (tsaritsa dokazatelstv) in political trials. Vyshinsky was the chief prosecutor in the Moscow show trials of 1936–1938 and played a central role in the development of the Stalinist legal system. His theoretical work shaped Soviet legal education, judicial practice, and legal scholarship for decades after his death, and his definition of law remained the official Soviet position until the perestroika period.

Socialist Legality (Sotsialisticheskaya Zakonnost)

The doctrine of socialist legality (sotsialisticheskaya zakonnost) was the central principle of Soviet legal administration. Socialist legality required the strict and uniform observance of laws by all state bodies, officials, and citizens. The principle was developed in the post-Stalin period as a reaction against the lawlessness of the Stalin era. The Procuracy exercise general supervision over the observance of laws, with the Procurator General having the power to review the legality of acts of state bodies and officials. The principle of socialist legality was enforced through the system of nadzor (supervisory review), which allowed the Procuracy and higher courts to review judicial decisions and administrative acts for compliance with the law. Socialist legality differed from the Western rule of law in its subordination of the legal system to the political leadership of the Communist Party. Laws were to be applied strictly and uniformly, but they could be changed at any time by the party-controlled legislative process, and the party retained the authority to determine the interpretation and application of law in politically significant cases.

Perestroika Legal Thought

The perestroika period (1986–1991) brought fundamental changes to Soviet legal theory. The concept of the socialist rule-of-law state (sotsialisticheskoye pravovoye gosudarstvo) was developed by legal scholars including Vladimir Kudryavtsev (Director of the Institute of State and Law) and Boris Topornin. The concept sought to reconcile the socialist character of the Soviet state with the rule-of-law principles of constitutionalism, separation of powers, judicial independence, and the protection of individual rights. The constitutional reforms of 1988–1991 established the Congress of People’s Deputies and the Supreme Soviet as legislative bodies, introduced competitive elections, established the Constitutional Supervision Committee, and began the process of judicial reform. Legal scholars engaged with Western legal theory, including concepts of human rights, the separation of powers, and the rule of law, and sought to integrate these concepts with Soviet legal traditions. The perestroika legal reforms represented the most significant transformation of Soviet legal theory since the 1920s and laid the intellectual foundations for the post-Soviet legal reforms of the 1990s.

Legacy

Soviet legal theory left a complex intellectual legacy for post-Soviet Russian law. The instrumental approach to law — law as a tool of state policy rather than a constraint on state power — persisted from the Soviet period and continues to influence Russian legal culture. The hierarchy of normative acts, the emphasis on codification, and the structure of legal education all reflect Soviet legal tradition. Vyshinsky’s positivist definition of law — law as the command of the sovereign — continues to resonate in Russian legal practice. At the same time, the perestroika-era engagement with rule-of-law concepts and the post-Soviet reception of Western legal theory have introduced new theoretical perspectives. The tension between the instrumental legal tradition and the rule-of-law ideal remains a central theme of contemporary Russian legal philosophy, as Russian legal scholars and practitioners continue to debate the nature and purpose of law in the post-Soviet state.