MOSCOW, May 28 - RAPSI, Maria Petrova. The minimum fee for public defenders will increase from the present $9 per day to $17 from January 1, 2013, the Federal Chamber of Lawyers told the Russian Legal Information Agency.

According to the chamber, the amount will increase in steady increments. The fee will go up to 425 rubles ($13) from July 1 and then up to 550 rubles from January 1.

This is the first time lawmakers have raised the amount of remuneration for lawyers in nearly 15 years.