Основы русской парламентской этики

Abstract

In the article the author reveals the principles of the parliamentary ethics on the basis of the historic material, especially related to the work of State Duma of the Russian Empire (1906-1917). The author proposes to describe them using the “ethic square” that determines the moral and behavioural coordinates of the parliamentarian’s actions. The sides of this square represent the mission of the parliamentarian as people’s representative, as legislator, as exponent of the political program and as responsible statesman. Each aspect of this mission implies specific ethic demands and restrictions for the parliamentarian. Of course some aspects of the parliamentarian’s mission may come into conflict sometimes, and harmonization of such conflicts is one of the main tasks of parliamentary ethics as theoretical discipline and constitutes an important part of the practical work of legislative assemblies.