The State Duma ( rus|Госуда́рственная ду́ма|r=Gosudárstvennaya dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus|Госду́ма), is the
lower house of the
Federal Assembly of Russia, while the
upper house is the
Council of the Federation. The
Duma headquarters are located in central
Moscow, a few steps from
Manege Square. Its members are referred to as deputies. The State Duma replaced the
Supreme Soviet as a result of the new constitution introduced by
Boris Yeltsin in the aftermath of the
Russian constitutional crisis of 1993, and approved by the Russian people
in a referendum.
In the
2007 and
2011 Russian legislative elections a full
party-list proportional representation with 7%
electoral threshold system was used, but this was subsequently repealed. The legislature's term length was initially 2 years in the 1993–1995 elections period, and 4 years in 1999–2007 elections period; since the 2011 elections the term length is 5 years.
History
The history of the Duma dates back to the Boyar dumas of Kievan Rus' and Muscovite Russia as well to Tsarist Russia. The State Duma was founded in 1905 after the violence and upheaval in the
Russian Revolution of 1905 and was Russia's first elected parliament. The first two attempts by Tsar
Nicholas II (1868-1918) to make it active were ineffective. Subsequently, each of these Dumas was dissolved after only a few months. The third Duma was the only one to last until the end of its five-year term. After the 1907 electoral reform, the third Duma, elected in November 1907, was largely made up of members of the upper classes, as radical influences in the Duma had almost entirely been removed. The establishment of the Duma after the
1905 Revolution was to herald significant changes to the previous Russian Imperial autocratic system. Furthermore, the Duma was later to have an important effect on Russian history, as it was one of the contributing factors in the
February Revolution of 1917, the first of two that year, which led to the abolition of autocracy in Russia and the overthrow of the Tsar.
Several generations and 75 years later after another
revolutionary era, in the December 1993 elections pro-Yeltsin parties won 175 seats in the Duma versus 125 seats for the left bloc. The balance of power lay with the sixty-four deputies of the
ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. Only parties that won more than five percent of the vote were given party-list seats: eight passed the threshold in 1993. In addition to those eight parties, a pool of thirty-five deputies was entitled to form a registered group to reflect regional or sectoral interests. Business was governed by a steering committee, the Duma Council, consisting of one person from each party or group. The most important task was dividing up the chair positions in the Duma's twenty-three committees, which was done as part of a power-sharing "package" deal.
Despite the fact that the
1993 Russian Constitution states that the State Duma is elected for four years, it was decided to elect the
first State Duma for two years.
During the second half of the 1990s, the Duma became an important forum for lobbying by regional leaders and businessmen looking for tax breaks and legislative favors. The work of the leading committees, such as those for defense, foreign affairs, or budget, attracted a good deal of media attention and lobbying activity.
In the early 2000s, following the
1999 parliamentary elections, the pro-presidential
Unity party and the
Communist Party were the leading forces in the State Duma.
After the
2003 elections, a
Dominant-party system was established in the State Duma with the pro-presidential
United Russia party. In all subsequent elections, United Russia has always received an absolute majority of seats (more than 226). After the
2007 elections, a four-party system was formed with a
United Russia,
Communist Party,
Liberal Democratic Party and
A Just Russia. Other parties could not get enough votes to go to the State Duma. Only in
2016 elections, two other parties,
Rodina and the
Civic Platform, were able to get one seat.
In 2008, after the adoption of
amendments to the Constitution, the term of the State Duma was increased from four to five years.
A 2016 exposé by
Dissernet showed that one in nine members of the State Duma had obtained academic degrees with theses that were substantially plagiarized and likely ghostwritten.
In 2018, it became known that the State Duma Building will be reconstructed. In March 2019 it became known that the repair will begin in May 2019 and will end in September 2020. During this period, the State Duma will temporarily be located in the
House of Unions. In addition, a draft of a new conference room, which would be an
amphitheatre, was presented.
Powers
The State Duma has special powers
enumerated by the
Constitution of Russia. They are:
* Consent to the appointment of the
Prime Minister of Russia.
* Hearing annual reports from the Government of the Russian Federation on the results of its work, including on issues raised by the State Duma.
* Deciding the
issue of confidence in the
Government of the Russian Federation.
* Appointment and dismissal of the Chairman of the
Central Bank of Russia.
* Appointment and dismissal of the Chairman and half of the auditors of the Accounts Chamber.
* Appointment and dismissal of the Commissioner for
Human rights, who shall act according to federal constitutional law.
* Announcement of
amnesty.
* Bringing charges against the President of the Russian Federation for his
impeachment (requires a two-thirds majority).
The State Duma adopts decrees on issues relating to its authority by the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
Constituencies
Constituencies are used for elections.
Procedure

Decrees of the State Duma are adopted by a majority of the total number of deputies of the State Duma, unless another procedure is envisaged by the Constitution. All bills are first approved by the State Duma and are further debated and approved (or rejected) by the Federation Council.
Relatively few
roll call votes have been published that identify individual deputies' votes.
[ The votes of individuals are recorded only if the voting is open and the electronic method is used.] While not all votes are officially roll call votes, every time a deputy electronically votes a computer registers the individual deputy's vote.
Membership
Any Russian citizen who is age 21 or older is eligible to participate in the election may be elected deputy to the State Duma. However, that same person may not be a deputy to the Federation Council. In addition, a State Duma deputy cannot hold office in any other representative body of state power or bodies of local self-government. The office as deputy of the State Duma is a full-time and professional position. Thus, deputies to the State Duma may not be employed in the civil service or engage in any activities for remuneration other than teaching, research or other creative activities.
Chairmen of the State Duma
*Ivan Rybkin (1994–1996)
*Gennadiy Seleznyov (1996–2003)
*Boris Gryzlov (2003–2011)
*Sergey Naryshkin (2011–2016)
*Vyacheslav Volodin (since 2016)
List of the State Duma convocations
Latest election
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Category:1993 establishments in Russia
Category:Federal Assembly (Russia)
Category:Government of Russia
Russia
Category:Tverskoy District