The Russian legal profession is unregulated, but there have been moves towards unification and regulation recently. Anyone with a legal education can practice law, but only a member of the Advokatura (Адвокатура) may practice before a criminal court. Legal education has traditionally begun with the specialist degree in law (специалист по правоведению). An "advocate" is an attorney who has demonstrated qualification and belongs to an organizational structure of advocates specified by law, known as being "called to the bar" in commonwealth countries
An examination is administered by the qualifications commission of a court for admission to its Advokatura.To sit for the exam, one must have a higher legal education (commonly a specialist degree) and either two years of experience in legal work or a training program in a law firm. The exam is both written and oral, but the main test is oral.The qualifications commission is composed of seven advocates, two judges, two representatives of the regional legislature, and two representatives of the Ministry of Justice.
In 1988 there were 25,000 lawyers,and in 2002 there were 47,000 defense lawyers in all of Russia.