Memes in the legislation of Russia

The article deals with the hypothesis about the existence of memes in the legislation of the Russian Federation, identified as the self-replicable information units which lose their original meaning being used in improper branches of law. The legal term loses the original meaning in the process of expanded interpretation and is subsequently replaced by another one. Excessive use of the term in unusual branches of law causes a lot of cognitive difficulties. The meme term was borrowed from natural scientific teachings of R. Dawkins, who is developing the theory of species evolution. The novelty of the research is in the use of scientific terms, created to describe evolutionary processes, including changes in society. This conceptual framework has not been specifically applied to law.