MOSCOW, September 18 - RAPSI. Public defenders will receive about 550 ($17.8)-1,200 ($38.7) rubles per day starting on January 1, 2013, or about 100 ($3.23)-250 ($8.1) rubles more than today's average, Izvestia news reported, citing a joint order issued by the Justice and Finance Ministries.

The need to increase payments for public defenders, whose wages had not been indexed for over 4.5 years, arose after a wave of strikes broke out in more than 25 regions across the country.

Public defenders demanded increased wages from their daily pay of 298 rubles ($9.62). In the Chuvash Republic, they protested their low wages and refused to attend trials.

Moscow Bar Association head Henry Reznik called the wages of court-assigned attorneys a "disgrace," adding that although public defenders are dissatisfied with their payments worldwide, they receive far less in Russia than in many other countries.

In France, public defenders receive 80 euro per hour, Reznik said.

In May, then-president Dmitry Medvedev signed a resolution to increase their salaries. The ministries recently approved the resolution.

As of July 1, 2012, public defenders received 425 rubles ($13.7) per day.

For work in the Supreme Court and federal courts, as well as jury trials, public defenders will receive 1,200 rubles ($38.7) per day. Payments in cases involving three or more suspects, and three or more charges, will be 980 rubles ($31.7) per day. They will be paid ($24.71) per day for working on closed trials and in cases involving under-aged or disabled individuals, or people who don't speak Russian.

In all other cases, the rate will amount to 550 rubles ($17.8) per day.

Additional payments will be made to public defenders depending on the work's difficulty. Additional payments of 220 rubles ($7.1) per day will be made as of next year. However, public defenders still believe this is not enough.