International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.3, 2024

A Historical Study of the Theoretical Basis for the Compilation of the Russian Civil Code

(Abstract)

Wang Zhihua

Throughout Russian history, three civil codes have been formulated: the 1922 and 1964 Soviet Civil Codes and the 1994-2006 Russian Federation Civil Code. The theory of the division of public and private law, the debate on civil law and economic law, and the theory of civil law objects are the theoretical foundations for the formulation of these codes. Traditionally a civil law country, Russia has been heavily influenced by the civil law theories and legislative practices of other civil law countries. However, Russian civil law scholars have consistently sought to go beyond merely following European legal traditions. The October Socialist Revolution provided the institutional framework for such breakthroughs. Consequently, civil law, which traditionally belonged to private law, gained a public law dimension, while economic law, a public law, became prominent. The theory of civil law objects also flourished during this period. However, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the subsequent shift in the country’s basic economic system, private law experienced a revival, economic law theory waned, and the theory of civil law objects further developed. This evolution offers significant insights for China’s civil law theory and legislative practice.