“…These accounts and academic reports confirm, for some, long-established assumptions about Russia's exceptionalism, in terms of the lack of the rule of law, corruption and legal nihilism (Ledeneva, 1998; 2006; Kurkchiyan, 2003; 2009; McAulley et al , 2006). Much of the academic literature, analytical reports, mass media and even common wisdom suggest that the justice system in Russia is unreliable – it does not provide equal access to justice, it does not treat its litigants fairly, law enforcement is fortuitous and ‘telephone law’ still prevails in different court settings (Pastukhov, 2002; Solomon, 2005; Ledeneva, 2006; Transparency International, 2007; Sakwa, 2009; 2010).…”