Situation in the Russian science of law: are there basic concepts?

The article is devoted to problems of modern Russian science of lawfound itself between XXth and XXIth centuries in difficult situation of overcoming the narrow frames of legal positivism and etatism, searching new methodological basis and integrating into worldwide scientific space. The article substantiates the term «science of law» itself which simultaneously means in Russian «legal science», «legal education» and «legal practice» and underlines by this their interconnection and mutual conditionality. The author observes legal trends determined Russian legal science condition and perspectives in the post-Soviet period. She also presents evolution of understanding the essence of law in works of the leading Russian scientists. The author explains overmentioned situation in legal science by using scientific basing of the culture as human vital activity overbiological programme, and legal culture as phenomenon which condition is determined by previous experience of legal sphere social development. In characteristics of modern legal science the accent is made on development of socially directed concepts which admit not only state, but also another public corporations, their considerable role in the modern society and possibilities of lawmaking activity. The author emphasizes peculiarities of development of the Russian legal system and culture, and illuminates problems of the science as a knowledge system and social institute. Following to the imperative scientific principle «from general to the special» the author asserts that if one does not define general approaches to the law on doctrinal level, decision of special legal problems will hardly produce visible results. While talking about important to the author tendencies of development of the Russian legal science in the post-Soviet period she marks that among different approaches sociological conceptions connected to search of regulative systems of legal type inside the society begin to acquire vogue. The golden thread of the article is idea that scientific legal society should compound approaches to the law and define the paradigm of legal researches answering to social interests and requirements.

modern legal science, methodological problems, typology of understanding the law, legal positivism, sociological positivism, paradigm, legal culture, legal community