What is an attorney (advokat), and how do they differ from a lawyer?

An attorney is a lawyer who has passed the bar examination and holds a special status with special rights and duties: attorney–client privilege, the warrant of attorney, formal attorney enquiries — and the exclusive right to act as defence counsel in criminal cases. Everyone at this bar association is an attorney; their status can be verified in the Moscow register of attorneys, and for the Mariupol office in the register of attorneys of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

What is attorney–client privilege?

Any information you give your attorney in connection with legal assistance is protected by law (art. 8 of Federal Law No. 63-FZ): an attorney cannot be questioned about it, and demands to disclose it are unlawful. It is a legal regime, not a promise.

Do you work only in Moscow?

The bar association works in Moscow and, since 2026, has an official representative office in the DPR — in Mariupol. Attorneys also handle cases in other regions: our practice includes proceedings in commercial (arbitrazh) courts — Russia’s state courts for business disputes — outside Moscow.

Can you help with tax, valuation or ongoing business support that does not need attorney status?

Such work — tax disputes, insolvency support, corporate law, valuation and audit — is handled by the lawyers of Kovalev & Partners LLC, a law firm with which the bar association has a cooperation agreement: kovalev.moscow. The bar association remains an independent organisation responsible for the attorney side of the work.

Do you advise in English?

Yes — written advice and court documents are prepared in Russian (the language of proceedings), and we correspond and explain the case to you in English. This page is a courtesy translation: where the two versions differ, the Russian version prevails.

ATTORNEYS

The attorneys

The people who handle your case. Everyone here is an attorney (advokat); each one’s status can be verified in the Moscow register of attorneys.

Call: +7 499 460-64-27

MOSCOW

The Moscow office

The legal-assistance agreement is concluded directly between the attorney and the client, and the attorney’s fee is paid into the bar association’s cash office or bank account (art. 25(1), (6) of Federal Law No. 63-FZ). All the attorneys are listed in the Moscow register of attorneys — each one’s status can be verified on the website of the Moscow City Bar Chamber.

The bar association’s telephone: +7 499 460-64-27. Each attorney has an e-mail address in the mka.moscow domain.

Dmitry Malyutov

Chairman of the Bar Association, attorney

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners

Attorney since 2009, chairman of the bar association since 2019. Criminal and commercial litigation, personal and corporate insolvency.

Criminal lawCommercial disputesPersonal bankruptcyCorporate insolvency

More about their experience

Education: Graduated from the Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI) with a degree in Law. Completed professional retraining at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics under the unified insolvency-practitioner programme (crisis management). Postgraduate student at the Moscow Innovation University.
Practice: A practising attorney since 2009, specialising in criminal and commercial law and in personal and corporate insolvency cases.
At the bar association: Chairman of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association since 2019.

Kristina Tsypkalo

Attorney, partner

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners

In the profession since 2011, called to the bar in 2019. Civil, commercial and corporate disputes, criminal defence, real estate, business support, insolvency.

Civil disputesCommercial and corporate disputesCriminal defenceReal estateBusiness supportInsolvency

More about their experience

Education: Graduated in 2011 from the Odessa National Law Academy (law degree). In 2017 completed a master’s programme at the Crimean Law Institute, a branch of the Academy of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation.
Practice: Working in the profession since 2011, including more than ten years in courts of general jurisdiction and commercial (arbitrazh) courts of first instance and appeal, among other roles as a judge’s assistant. Called to the bar in 2019.
Focus: Representing individuals in civil matters; extensive experience of commercial and corporate disputes, real-estate transactions, ongoing legal support of businesses and insolvency cases.

Yury Koval

Attorney

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners

Attorney since 2014; before that, more than twenty years in military prosecution offices. Retired colonel of justice.

Military lawMilitary registrationCriminal lawAdministrative law

More about their experience

Education: Graduated in 1992 from the law faculty of the Military Institute with a degree in law.
Practice: From 1992 to 2013 served in prosecutorial and investigative positions in military prosecution offices; colonel of justice. An attorney since 2014.

Olga Lapina

Attorney

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners

Attorney since 2010, practising in Moscow since 2020. Employment, family, inheritance and housing disputes; pro bono expert to the Moscow Commissioner for the Protection of Entrepreneurs’ Rights.

Employment lawFamily lawInheritanceHousing disputesProtection of entrepreneurs

More about their experience

Education: Graduated in 2008 from the Volgograd Law University.
Practice: Called to the bar in 2010. From 2010 to 2020 a member of the Astrakhan Regional Bar; since 2020 practising in Moscow, a member of the Moscow City Bar Chamber.
Public work: Pro bono expert to the Commissioner for the Protection of Entrepreneurs’ Rights in Moscow.

MARIUPOL

The Mariupol office

Since 2026 the bar association has had an official representative office in the DPR — in Mariupol: its attorneys handle cases in the city and the region.

Marianna Dzyuba

Attorney

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners

Bar association office in Mariupol

For fourteen years a judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol, and before that a prosecution investigator. Called to the bar in 2026; handles cases at the association’s Mariupol office.

Criminal defenceCivil disputesFamily disputesCourt representation

More about their experience

Education: 1999 — Yaroslav Mudryi National Law Academy, degree in law.
Practice: In the law since 1996, starting on the staff of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol. From 1999 to 2003 she served in the Mariupol prosecution service: assistant to the environmental inter-district prosecutor, then senior investigator of the environmental and district prosecutor’s offices. Later — claims and legal work at the Azov Shipping Company “Torgovy Flot Donbassa”. From 2004 to 2018 — judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol. From 2019 — in the bar: the Balashov & Partners law bureau, and from 2021 head of the Constant Legal Protection advocacy association. Called to the Russian bar in 2026; practises at the Mariupol office of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association.
Focus: Criminal defence — drawing on her investigative service and fourteen years on the bench. Civil and family disputes; representation in courts of general jurisdiction.
Approach: Experience on both sides of the courtroom — fourteen years of deciding cases and investigative work at the prosecution service — helps her assess a case’s prospects soberly before it ever reaches court.

Evgenia Mitrofanova

Attorney

Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners

Bar association office in Mariupol

In the profession since 2002: an attorney from 2006 and, for eight years, a judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol. A lawyer and psychologist by training; handles cases at the association’s Mariupol office.

Criminal defenceCivil disputesFamily disputesInheritance disputesCourt representation

More about their experience

Education: 2000–2005 — Academy of Labour and Social Relations, degree in law (courts, prosecution and the bar). 2008 — Yaroslav Mudryi National Law Academy, faculty for the training of professional judges, Master of Laws. 2017 — a further degree in psychology.
Practice: In the profession since 2002: court session secretary, attorney’s assistant, and from 2006 an attorney of the Azov Advocacy Company — deputy chair and then chair of its presidium in 2008–2010. From 2010 to 2018 — judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol, appointed for an indefinite term, general docket. Thereafter — advocacy and in-house practice, including anti-corruption work. An attorney at the Mariupol office of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association.
Focus: Criminal defence, including corruption offences — backed by eight years on the bench and specialist training in corruption investigations. Civil, family and inheritance disputes; representation in courts of general jurisdiction.
Further training: National School of Judges seminars (2015–2016), including on personal-data protection law; a special course of the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest on investigating corruption offences and combating human trafficking (2016).
Approach: The combination of judicial experience and a psychology degree helps in cases where negotiation matters as much as the law: family, inheritance and neighbour disputes.

NEXT STEP

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Call: +7 499 460-64-27