An American publishing house publishes a book about the development of international law at St Petersburg University

The authors of the book are Vitalii Ivanenko, Associate Professor at St Petersburg University, and William Butler, Professor of the University of Pennsylvania. Vitalii Ivanenko devoted more than 22 years of work to studying the contribution of the University scholars to the history of science and practice of international law. William Butler is one of the leading international experts in the field of law of Russia, the USSR and the CIS countries, a specialist in the field public and private international law and comparative law. 

The book focuses on the two-century history of the origin and development of science and the teaching of international law at St Petersburg University, the leading university of the Russian Empire. 

It analyses the contribution of the University scholars to the development of scientific and educational activities in the field of international law and international relations in a number of other higher educational institutions in St Petersburg and Petrograd in the period from the 1720s to the 1920s.

The book is published by Talbot Publishing (USA).

The authors shed light on professional path of scholars and graduates of the University and other higher educational institutions of St Petersburg (Petrograd), who used their knowledge and expertise in the field of international law in various parts of the world and their contribution to world science and practice of international law. Among them were the following: Friedrich Martens, Mikhail Taube, Aleksandr Pilenko, Boris Nolde, Andrei Mandelstam, and Aleksandr Makarov to name just a few. 

The book is based on unprecedented use of archival sources and scientific libraries. The research took a total of 20 years. How the St Petersburg School of International Law has been evolving is shown in an unusual context, i.e. in the light of not only the current state and implementation of the domestic and foreign policies of the Russian state, but also the development of higher education, including legal education, at St Petersburg University and in Russia.

The importance of the monograph for the world science of international law can hardly be overestimated. It benefits the scientific and educational field of modern Russia and beyond by reviving and returning the names and scholarly papers of Russian scholars who, after the revolutionary hard times of the 1917 to 1920s, were forgotten.

The monograph contains extensive bibliographic material and reproductions of images of 60 lawyers. The book will be of interest not only to students and scholars studying international law, but also to all those who are enthusiastic about its history.