Digest of Laws of the Russian Empire

The Digest of Laws of the Russian Empire was a legal code governing both criminal and civil matters that took effect on January 1, 1835. It was drawn from the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire, a chronological compilation running to 46 volumes, and served as a condensed reference to that much larger body of law, whose enormous scope and minute regulation of everyday life made it impractical to consult directly. Rather than working through the Complete Collection, literate subjects of the empire relied on the Digest of Laws to understand what was legally permitted and required of them under a system of government that sought to regulate conduct in fine detail.