The Radical Attorney of the Russian Empire – Alexander Lindfors (1837–1890)

Anotace: The article is intended to highlight the advocacy of the well-known attorney and zemstvo leader in the Russian Empire, Alexander Lindfors (1837–1890). His name is often found on the pages of scientific publications devoted to the history of the constitutional movement in Russia among liberals of the 19th century. However, the scientific community does not have a wide knowledge of the facts of his biography due to the very limited interest in Lindfors. Only Rakhno’s biography was studied by Lindfors already in the 21st century, which undoubtedly affects the amount of information about the subject of our study. Alexander Lindfors, first of all, began to engage in social activities in connection with active advocacy. But too little is known about the latter because no research has been conducted in this direction before. This study is an attempt to put together facts about Lindfors as a lawyer using the method of narrative analysis and a critical assessment of the sources used. Using these methods, the author was able to find evidence of Lindfors's participation in the most high-profile court cases against the members of the 19th-century revolutionary political organization in the Russian Empire with a name “Narodnaya Volya”. Lindfors was one of a limited number of 20 attorneys known to us for appearing in the 1860-1890s during the biggest litigations against Russian revolutionaries. The most famous litigation involving A. Lindfors is the so-called "Kyiv process against the 12 “Narodnaya Volya” members". An analysis of the memories of people close to Lindfors made it possible to characterize his legal activity and confirm his direct involvement in the establishment of the Kyiv Law Society.