Zarudny, Alexander Sergeevich

• Father - Sergey Ivanovich Zarudny ( 1821 - 1887 ) - Senator, Privy Councilor, one of the main figures in the judicial reform of 1864 .
• Mother - Zoya Alexandrovna.

Alexander Zarudny had seven brothers and sisters, including:

• Ekaterina Sergeevna Zarudnaya-Kavos ( 1861-1917 ), artist;
• Sergey Sergeevich Zarudny. He was expelled to Siberia for three years in 1887 in the case of the assassination attempt of the terrorist faction of the party "Narodnaya Volya" against Emperor Alexander III . A.S. Zarudny was also arrested in this case, however, he was released for insufficient evidence. Son of S. S. Zarudny Bogdan-Alexander Zarudny (April 28, 1890 - February 2, 1918) - Ukrainian politician and statesman, one of the founders and members of the Central Committee of the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries , member of the Ukrainian Central Rada, Secretary General (Minister) of Land Affairs of the General Secretariat (Government) of the Ukrainian People's Republic (21.12 .1917-16.01.1918), brutally murdered by the Red Guards Muravyov on the first day of their occupation of Kiev.

He graduated from the School of Law ( 1885 ), began his career as assistant secretary of the St. Petersburg District Court. In April 1887, he was arrested with his younger brother Sergei in the case of the assassination attempt against Alexander III, during the search he found illegal literature. He spent a week in the house of pre-trial detention, then released due to lack of evidence (the investigation failed to prove either his connections with the terrorists, or his intention to distribute the literature he found). As a result, he was charged with punishment in custody.

In 1887-1888 he was on vacation abroad. In 1888-1891 he worked at the Ministry of Justice. From 1891 he served in the prosecutor’s office in the province ( Kremenchug , Poltava , Petrozavodsk ), in 1895 - 1900 he was a friend of the prosecutor of the St. Petersburg District Court. His colleague in the prosecutor's office, S. V. Zavadsky, noted the honesty and high emotionality of Zarudny:

A disinterested idealist, a kind and sympathetic person, a good but somewhat slow worker, he had a head that could boil no worse than a samovar.

In 1900-1902 he served in the legal advisory department of the Ministry of Justice. He completed his service with the rank of state adviser , and was awarded the orders of St. Stanislav 2nd degree and St. Anne of the 3rd degree.

Since 1902 - sworn attorney of the St. Petersburg Court of Justice. ^[1] He belonged to the so-called “young bar”, which was engaged in political defense in various cities of Russia and opposed to the tsarist regime. He participated in the defense of the accused in such high-profile cases as the trials of Yakut exiled settlers ( 1904 ; the “Romanov case” - about an armed protest against the actions of the administration), the Socialist Revolutionary Organization ( 1905 ), lieutenant P.P. Schmidt and other participants in the uprising in the Black Sea Fleet ( 1906 ), St. Petersburg Council of Workers' Deputies (1906), on the preparation of the assassination attempt on Nicholas II (1907). In addition, he participated in “literary processes”, protecting writers, publishers, and journalists who were held accountable for criticizing the existing order. During the “Romanov case” he proved the legality of disobedience to illegal actions of the authorities, considering such a protest as a necessary defense. In his defensive speech, he practically identified himself with his clients:

With all the conviction that I am only capable of, with all my faith in the ultimate triumph of goodness, with all my infinite love of the Motherland, I ask that my signature be added to the February 18 protest.

Alexander Zarudny became especially famous as a lawyer during the Beilis case in 1913 . According to the lawyer A. A. Demyanov , Zarudny

was the soul of this process and it was unlikely that Zarudny could have gone through this process so brilliantly, despite the speeches of Maklakov , Gruzenberg and others. Zarudny took upon himself the most difficult task, which required enormous labor and erudition: to prove that, according to the teachings of the Jews themselves, there could be absolutely no ritual killings. He made a wonderful speech, but the whole brilliance of his defense consisted of a replica to civil plaintiffs when, rejecting their arguments and referring to the Talmud and other religious books of Jewry, he showed how deeply he studied his subject, his resourcefulness and brilliance in the replica.

Demyanov also recalled that

Zarudny, as a lawyer, always knew the case that was assigned to him, to the finest detail. In this regard, he was a conscientious attorney. In the interests of his client, he reached the point of subtlety; he took everything into account, studied the composition of the jury and took into account the character of the judges, he always knew how to turn the defense and what he would say. I always considered Zarudny one of our best criminal defenders. Zarudny never aspired to advertising. Not only that, he was not even interested in being reported in newspapers about his speeches, or that his speech was printed even when it had political significance.

According to lawyer B. S. Utevsky,

Zarudny was a modest man in life, devoid of ambition. He did not pursue fees, did not think about earning, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to defense in political processes. I recall court hearings on political matters in which Zarudny was the defense leader and in which I had to participate in modest roles. We all listened to the words of Zarudny. He enjoyed the respect of the old lawyers. He made a strong impression on the jury.

Since March 1917, Zarudny participated in the work of the Labor Group , which in July of the same year united with the People’s Socialists in the Labor People’s Socialist Party. In March 1917 he was appointed fellow Minister of Justice, actively participated in the activities of the Commission on the Review of the Judicial Statutes of 1864, whose task was to return the legislation to the liberal traditions of judicial reform. In June of that year, he resigned. He was a member of the group of specialists of the Special Meeting of the Provisional Government on the preparation of the draft Regulation on the elections to the Constituent Assembly, in July 1917 for several days he was the senior chairman of the St. Petersburg Judicial Chamber.

He was part of the third (second coalition) composition of the Provisional Government as a representative of the Labor People's Socialist Party. He oversaw the investigation of the case of Bolshevik party members accused of treason, organizing an uprising and espionage in favor of Germany . He insisted on the speedy arrest of V.I. Lenin , who was hiding from the investigation, but did not show much activity in the fight against the Bolsheviks. During his leadership of the Ministry, L. B. Kamenev , A. V. Lunacharsky , A. M. Kollontai and other prominent figures of the Bolshevik Party were released from custody. He gave the Minister of War and the Minister of the Interior permission during the war to prevent and close meetings and congresses that could pose a military threat. Because of his emotionality, he came into conflict with his subordinates. According to A. A. Demyanov,

knowing his independence of opinion and intolerance, I was sure that he would not stay long as a minister. And so it happened.

After resigning as minister, in September 1917 he participated in the Democratic Conference, criticized the weakness of the Provisional Government, was a supporter of a coalition of socialist and liberal political forces, and demonstrated his rejection of personal power, including his longtime friend A.F. Kerensky . Sincere and devoid of political calculation, Zarudny’s speech was used by the Bolsheviks to criticize the Provisional Government.

In Soviet times, Zarudny moved away from political activity. He was a member of the Presidium of the Bar Association in Leningrad and legal adviser to the Leningrad branch of the All-Union Society of Political Prisoners and Exiled Settlers . Participated in criminal defense. He was engaged in pedagogical activities, gave lectures on historical-revolutionary and legal topics in various cities of the country. In 1933, at the request of the Society of Political Prisoners, he was assigned a personal pension.

• Order of St. Stanislav 2nd degree;
• Order of St. Anne of the 3rd degree.

• Zvyagintsev A. G., Orlov Yu. G. In the era of upheaval and reform. Russian prosecutors. 1906-1917. - M., 1996.
• Varfolomeev Yu. V. Zarudny: lawyer and public figure. - Saratov, 2002.

• Alexander Sergeevich Zarudny, son of S.I. Zarudny (neopr.) . Saratov University. Date of treatment December 17, 2012. Archived December 19, 2012.
• Zarudny Alexander Sergeevich // Figures of the revolutionary movement in Russia : in 5 volumes / ed. F. Ya. Kona et al. - M .: All-Union Society of Political Prisoners and Exiled Settlers , 1927-1934.