State Duma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see State Duma (disambiguation).
The State Duma was made in 1906 and was Russia's first elected parliament. It took the czar three tries to get the duma right. The first two tries were too radical. When the third duma was finished in 1907, more than two thirds of its delagates were elected by hte richest people in Russia. Even so, order had been restored, and a strife-weary population mostly seemed happy to get back to normal life. On the surface little had changed, but in reality the czar's position had been seriously weakened. He was never to exercise the same unchalenged authority again.(Russian: Государственная дума (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), common abbreviation: Госдума (Gosduma)) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia (legislature), the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. It's headquartered in downtown 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 new constitution introduced by Boris Yeltsin, in the aftermath of the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993, and approved by the Russian public in a referendum.
The State Duma has its powers enumerated by the Constitution of Russia. They are:
- To pass laws by a majority, which must then be approved by the Federation Council and signed by the President
- To similarly amend the constitution with a two thirds majority.
- To override a rejection of a law by the Federation Council of Russia by two thirds
- To override the veto of the President by a two thirds majority (The Federation Council must also vote to override with a three quarters majority)
- To approve or reject the President's nominee for Prime Minister of Russia
- To appoint the deputy chairman of the Audit Chamber and half of its auditors
- To file an impeachment against the President (Requires a two thirds majority)
Additionally, there are constitutionally 450 deputies of the State Duma (Article 95), each elected to a term of four years (Article 96). Russian citizens at least 21 years old are eligible to run for the Duma (Article 97).
The current speaker of the State Duma is Boris Gryzlov.
[edit] Current composition
Affiliation | Delegates | Seats | Popular vote |
United Russia | 305 | 67.78% | 37.57% |
Communist Party | 46 | 10.22% | 12.61% |
Liberal Democratic Party | 35 | 7.78% | 11.45% |
Russia of Justice | 31 | 6.89% | 9.02% |
Narodnaya Volya—United Socialist Party | 12 | 2.67% | n/a |
Independent | 17 | 3.78% | n/a |
Total | 446 | 100% | 100% |
Federal Assembly of Russia | ||
Capital: Moscow State Duma | Federation Council of Russia |