The State Duma ( (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), common abbreviation: ??????? (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. The Duma is 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 the 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

History

The State Duma was first introduced in 1906 and was Russia's first elected parliament. The first two attempts by Tsar Nicholas II were too radical and ineffective and were subsequently dissolved after only a few months each. After the 1907 electoral reform the third Duma, elected in November 1907, was largely made up of members of the upper classes and 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 Russian autocratic system. Furthermore the Duma was later to have a larger effect on Russia as it was one of the contributing factors in the February Revolution, which led to the abolition of the autocracy in Russia.

Powers

The State Duma has special powers enumerated by the Constitution of Russia. They are:

• To approve or reject the President's nominee for Prime Minister of Russia
• To approve or reject the President's nominee for the chairman of the Central Bank 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)
• All bills are first approved here, to be further debated and approved in the Federation Council.
• Duties are enumerated in Section 1, Chapter 5, Articles 100-108, in the Russian Constitution.

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). Seats are awarded on the basis of the percentage of election votes won by a party. The party then elects candidates to fill its eligible seats.

The current speaker of the State Duma is Boris Gryzlov since December 29, 2003.

Speakers of the State Duma

• Ivan Rybkin (Agrarian Party of Russia) January 14, 1994 - January 17, 1996
• Gennady Seleznyov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) January 17, 1996 - December 29, 2003
• Boris Gryzlov (United Russia) December 29, 2003-Present

Latest election

Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the Russian State Duma since December of 2003

Emblem commemorating 100 years of State Duma in Russia

Current composition

Presidential Envoys to the State Duma

• Alexander Yakovlev (February 181994, ? February 101996)
• Alexander Kotenkov (February 101996, ? April 52004)
• Alexander Kosopkin (since April 52004)

External links

• Official site

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