A lawyer who crossed the boundary between law and politics in revolution
On 4 July 1917, he authorized the press release of treason allegations aimed at the Bolshevik leadership.
Pavel Pereverzev was a Russian lawyer known for defending political defendants under the imperial regime, then taking on legal administration during the revolution. In July 1917 he released press material alleging Bolshevik links with Germany, helping intensify the political crackdown, while the reliability and interpretation of the evidence remained disputed. Criticized for acting without full coordination with the government, he resigned, later emigrated, and became active in Russian émigré legal organizations in France.
Career Timeline
- 1894Graduated from the Faculty of Law, Saint Petersburg University
- 1901Began practice as an attorney-at-law
- 1915Defence counsel for Bolshevik deputies of the Fourth State Duma
- 1917.03Procurator of the Petrograd Judicial Chamber
- 1917.05–07Minister of Justice in the Provisional Government
- 1920–1921Lived in exile in Constantinople and Tunis
- 1927–1944Worked in Russian émigré lawyers’ organizations in France