In the Russian language, there are many stable expressions that have a figurative meaning. Sometimes in journalism one has to meet the combination "Shemyakin Court". Who is Shemyaka? Why has this name become a household name and is used with a dismissive or even completely negative connotation?
The story "Shemyakin court"
The story "Shemyakin's Court" is a work that tells in a satirical form about the unjust judgment perpetrated by "Judge Shemyaka". This work tells how one of the poor is sued in turn by his rich brother, a priest, and then a city dweller. To try the case, the three plaintiffs and the defendant are sent to Shemyaka's court.
And it was like this. Once a poor brother asked a rich man for a time to bring a horse to bring him firewood. The rich man reluctantly agreed, but he refused to give his brother a yoke. Without thinking twice, the poor brother tied the prepared firewood to the horse's tail. The mare suddenly carried and tore off her tail. Upon learning of this, the rich brother went to court with a complaint against his brother. The poor brother followed him to find the truth.
On the way, the brothers stopped for the night with a priest. When they began to eat, the poor man was not called to the table. The poor brother took offense and strangled the priest's son in his hearts. The angry priest also went to judge Shemyaka with a complaint about the poor man. On the way, the poor man managed to turn another person against himself, who also went to court for support. So all four of them were brought before the judge.
In the bosom of the poor brother was a stone wrapped in a rag, which he hoped to offer the judge as a "promise."
Judge Shemyaka, believing that the poor man was offering him gold, ruled in such a way that all three complainants were forced to pay off the poor man, just not to carry out the unjust court decision. At the end of the trial, Shemyaka found out that the poor man had a stone in his bosom, and thanked God for advising him to decide the case in favor of the poor man, who otherwise could have killed the judge with this very stone.
Shemyaka as a symbol of an unrighteous judge
The story of "Judge Shemyak", which dates back to the 17th century, became the basis for later phraseological units. The stable expression "Shemyakin court" is used when they want to emphasize judicial greed, the absurdity of legislative regulations that can be executed in any way the judges want.
“Judge Shemyaka” pronounced his verdict in favor of the poor man not on the basis of facts and ideas about justice, but in the hope of profit. That is why the name of the judge has become a household name.
Interestingly, researchers believe that the Galician prince Shemyaka, who ruled in the first half of the 15th century, became the prototype of the greedy judge. The ruler was widely known among the people for his cunning, cruelty, partiality and unfair judicial decisions. It is believed that the oral legends about Dmitry Shemyak were subsequently revised by unknown authors and took the form of a satirical story.
