Duma
A
Duma (
"у́ма in
Russian) is any of various representative assemblies in modern
Russia and Russian history. The
State Duma in the
Russian Empire and
Russian Federation corresponds to the
lower house of the
parliament. It is also the term for a council to early Russian rulers (
Boyar Duma), as well as for city councils in Imperial Russia (
City Duma).
The term comes from the Russian word
думать (
dumat), "to think".
Boyar Duma was an advisory council to the
grand princes and
tsars of
Muscovy. The Duma was discontinued by
Peter the Great, who transferred its functions to the
Governing Senate in
1711.
Under the pressure of the
Russian Revolution of 1905, on
August 6,
1905 Tsar Nicholas II issued a manifesto about the convocation of the Duma, initially thought to be an advisory organ. In the subsequent
October Manifesto Tsar pledged to introduce basic
civil liberties, provide for broad participation in the
State Duma, and endow the Duma with legislative and oversight powers. Though Russia was an
autocracy, rather than a democracy, the State Duma is sometimes formally compared to the lower house of a parliament (the
State Council of Imperial Russia being compared to the upper house).
However, Nicholas II was determined to retain his autocratic power. Just before the creation of the Duma in May
1906, the Tsar issued the
Fundamental Laws that contradicted the October Manifesto in several important ways. It stated in part that Tsar's
ministers could not be appointed by and were not responsible to the Duma, thus denying
responsible government at the executive level. Furthermore, the Tsar had the power to dismiss the Duma and announce new elections whenever he wishes. On the day that he dissolved the Duma Nicholas II wrote in his diary only one sentence about the day's highlight news:
Signed a decree dissolving the Duma. |
Pre-revolutionary Duma met in the Tauride Palace, St Petersburg |
Election for the
First Duma, which opened in July 1906, returned a significant bloc of moderate socialists and both liberal parties who demanded further reforms. For this reason, it is often called "the Duma of public anger".
Sergei Muromtsev, Professor of Law at Moscow University, was elected President. Due to growing tensions between the Duma and Nicholas II's ministers (prominently
Goremykin), the assembly was dissolved within ten weeks.
The
Second Duma in February
1907 was equally short-lived. Using emergency power, Prime Minister
Petr Stolypin changed the electoral law and gave greater electoral value to the votes of
nobility and
landowners. This ensured the Third Duma would be dominated by gentry, landowners and businessmen.
Between
1907 and
1912, the
Octobrist-dominated
Third Duma ran its course. Being more oriented towards conservative positions, it was able to last its full five-years term. The assassination of Stolypin and increasingly reactionary policies of the Tsar and his
State Council further weakened the significance of the Third Duma.
The
Fourth Duma of 1912–
1917 was also of limited political influence; however, it played a role in the events of 1917, partly cooperating with the
provisional government. It was dissolved in the course of the
Russian Revolution.
The
State Duma (Russian: "осударственная дума (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), common abbreviation: "осдума (Gosduma)) in the
Russian Federation is the
lower house of the
Federal Assembly of Russia (
parliament), the
upper house being the
Federation Council of Russia. Under Russia's
1993 constitution, there are 450 deputies of the State Duma (Article 95), each elected to a term of four years (Article 96). One half of the deputies are elected by a system of proportional representation and one half are elected by plurality in single member districts. Russian citizens at least 21 years old are eligible to run for the Duma (Article 97).
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