In medieval Europe and the Russian state, the word “zertsalo” was used to refer to educational, didactic, legal, instructive treatises, and encyclopedias. This was also the name of a special type of armor worn by the nobility.

In the 18th century, under Emperor Peter the Great’s rule, this word had a new meaning. Three-sided prisms crowned with a double-headed eagle began to be called mirrors. They were installed in various institutions and three decrees of Peter the Great were placed on them: “On the preservation of civil rights, ” on behavior in judicial places, and on the importance of state charters.

One of the directions of the reform activity of the first Russian emperor was the improvement of the legal system. Peter the Great believed that fair laws regulating all aspects of the life of various strata of society, and their implementation are the basis of the life of the state.

The emperor ordered to install mirrors in all public places, including in the Senate, so that they remind officials of the need to observe laws and discipline.

The decree “On the preservation of civil rights” read:

Later, this requirement became part of the laws of the Russian Empire and was included in other acts. For example, in the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, published in 1892, it was stated: “However, the concept of presence is also determined by some purely external conditions; for example, in all official places, without exception, there should be a zertsalo in the official room, which is obviously a symbol of state power. Article 39 of the general provincial institution suffers, however, from ambiguity; while giving a categorical command about the zertsalo, at the same it time expresses a punitive threat in the form of a reprimand to those persons who will be guilty of non-compliance with this article. Hence, we can think that the absence of a zertsalo does not make the presences invalid”.

Zertsalos were installed in public places until 1917. In the absence of the stand, the official could even be fined. The texts of the decrees gave specific examples of punishments to which statesmen were subjected for violating the law and abuse of official position.