Pereverzev, Pavel Nikolaevich

Born in the family of retired state adviser Nikolai Pereverzev. Mother - Varvara Stanislavovna, nee Makovleva.

He graduated from the law faculty of St. Petersburg University . In his student years he gave lessons in the family of the famous doctor Ivan Vasilyevich Malyarevsky, whose daughter Catherine married in 1898 . Children - Nikolai, Peter, Pavel, Tatyana, Oia, Catherine.

He served in the Ministry of Justice, was an assistant to the attorney, since 1901 - the attorney. He specialized in defense in criminal proceedings and was also a political advocate. By order of the Minister of the Interior, V. K. Pleve was sent to Arkhangelsk for three years, but after the murder Pleve got the opportunity to return to Petersburg. Being in exile, he joined the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (Socialist Revolutionaries), then collaborated with the moderate People’s Socialist Party .

He was a member of the board of jurors of the district of the St. Petersburg Court of Justice. He was an advocate in trials on the release of political prisoners in Pinsk , on the transportation of illegal literature, against active figures of the Armenian Dashnaktsutyun party. In January 1909 he participated in the defense of the well-known journalist P. E. Shchegolev , who was accused of publishing anti-government materials in the journal Past. In 1915 he was one of the lawyers for members of the Bolshevik faction in the IV State Duma , who were threatened by indefinite hard labor (however, as a result, they were sent into exile). At the process, Pereverzev identified himself with his clients, stating:

Years will pass. Slanderous accusations of treason will fly away like husks. But the names of the deputies will remain unforgettable, the consciousness will remain unchanged that, having risen from the dark, unknown lower classes to the top of state life, they, like ordinary workers, did not tear their hearts from the suffering and needs of their brothers, protected them honestly and courageously.

Of the "non-political" processes in which Pereverzev participated, the most famous was the Case of Millions of Prince Oginsky ( 1911 ) - the preparation of a false spiritual testament on behalf of Prince Bogdan Oginsky. Pereverzev defended one of the minor accused, who also pleaded guilty, but was able to justify him by presenting a dilemma to the jury: either "plunge him completely into the abyss on the edge of which he found himself," or return the repentant person to his family.

According to lawyer Alexander Demyanov ,

By himself, a sweet man, "soul man," cheerful and expansive, Pereverzev made a very good impression on everyone. He enjoyed a good reputation as a speaker. Indeed, he is fluent in speech, has a good voice. As far as I can tell, his speeches, however, were never programmatic, but the thoughts he expressed were marks, and his speech from the outside was not without brilliance.

Along with law practice, Pereverzev continued to engage in social activities - for signing a letter of protest in the Beilis case, he was imprisoned for eight months in the Peter and Paul Fortress .

He was a member of the Great East of France , and then VVNR , from 1907 - a member of the box "North Star" . He was an orator of Halpern's box (existed in 1910-1915 ). In 1917 - led a lodge named after him.

During the First World War, he led the sanitary detachment, formed by Petrograd lawyers, proved to be an energetic organizer.

After the February Revolution , in March 1917 he was appointed prosecutor of the Petrograd Court of Justice. As such, he traveled to Kronstadt , where he unsuccessfully demanded that the sailors release the officers they had arrested. He sought to introduce into the legal framework the issue of the arrest of leaders of the tsarist regime, having achieved that arrests could be made only with the written order of the prosecutor of the court of law (otherwise all those arrested would be released within 24 hours). He was engaged in investigating the illegal actions of tsarist officials, at the same time at a meeting with lawyers he admitted that the Provisional Government was forced to violate the law itself.

In the second (first coalition) composition of the Provisional Government, Pereverzev was appointed Minister of Justice. He continued the practice of his predecessor A.F. Kerensky on the appointment of lawyers for key posts in the department. In June 1917, he achieved the eviction of the anarchists from the summer cottage occupied by them by the former Minister of the Interior P.N. Durnovo , personally present during her assault by the troops. In July 1917, in a situation of anti-government speech by the Bolsheviks, he ordered the information provided by the counterintelligence to be published on his financial relations with the German authorities. At the request of the leadership of the Council of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, the majority of Petrograd newspapers refused to publish these data - the only exception was the Zhivoye Slovo newspaper. The publication of materials caused a sharp decline in the popularity of the Bolshevik party , however, the key figures of the Provisional Government - Alexander Kerensky, Mikhail Tereshchenko and Nikolai Nekrasov - condemned the actions of the minister not agreed with the government. After that, Pereverzev resigned and soon again went to the front at the head of the sanitary detachment. The question of the reliability of data on the relations of the Bolsheviks with the Germans remains debatable.

According to Alexander Demyanov, who was his comrade (deputy) in the ministry, Pereverzev was “a clean and honest man”, but “a great dreamer, a programless and inept administrator.”

After the Bolsheviks came to power, Pereverzev was forced to hide, the new authorities were preparing a major process over him, his two sons were arrested as hostages until his father returned, but they were released with the help of socialist friends. Then he lived in Crimea , from where in 1920 he emigrated with his family to Constantinople , and then to Tunisia , where since 1921 he was a representative of the Zemstvo-city union. Then he moved to Paris , where he was engaged in legal practice, was a member of the Union of Russian Lawyers. In 1927 he was a member of the Association of Russian Lawyers in France, since 1928 he was a member of his council, and since 1932 - a fellow chairman of the council. Since 1932 he was also the Secretary General of the Federation of Russian Bar Organizations Abroad. In 1933 - Chairman of the Union of Employees of Banks and Offices.

He continued to participate in the activities of Masonic organizations. From 1927 he was a member of the Northern Star box, in 1928–1930 and in 1932 he was her venerable master , in 1932–1934 and 1937–1938 he was an orator, and from 1935 he was an honorary venerable master. He represented the box at the general assembly (convention) of the Great East of France. From 1933 he was a member, from 1938 to 1939 he was chairman of the Northern Brothers box. He was a founding member of the “Free Russia” box, a founding member and secretary of the sovereign capital “North Star”. Since 1938, he was a member of the Masonic group “Face to Russia,” led by Nikolai Avksentiev . On behalf of Masonic organizations, he visited Russian prisoners in Paris prisons, supporting them.

During the German occupation of France, at the request of his colleague in Freemasonry, Abram Alperin was a fictitious director of his enterprise (since Jews were deprived of the right to occupy leadership positions).

• Serkov A.I. Russian Freemasonry. 1731-2000: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M., 2001.
• Zvyagintsev A. G., Orlov Yu. G. In the era of upheaval and reform: Russian prosecutors. 1906-1917. - M., 1996.

• Biography