Deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation: Career Characteristics after the Termination of Office

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the careers of the deputies of the State Duma after their termination of office. The empirical base of research is a biographical database containing, in particular, information on the post-Duma work of 1209 parliamentarians. The most important institutional channels within which the careers of former deputies are being held are economic and administrative structures, with some ex-legislators being part of the nationwide administrative and economic elites. Legislative bodies and scientific-educational structures play an important role as a place of work for deputies after having left the Duma. In addition, an appreciable percentage of the deputies occupied the posts serving the activities of the lower house of parliament and its members (deputies’ assistants, or staff of the Duma apparatus) after the end of office. The nature of the post-Duma career is presumably partly related to the career characteristics preceding the election to the Duma. Among the deputies with post-parliamentary experience in administrative and scientific-educational structures, and regional legislatures and in key positions in commercial organizations, the corresponding pre-parliamentary experience is more widespread than in the entire study population. Moreover, some of the deputies were at the same place of work immediately after the end of office, or in the same or similar position, which is mainly characteristic of people from the business and scientific-educational spheres. For many of the deputies, the parliamentary position became a springboard for reaching higher positions of employment immediately after leaving the State Duma than those they occupied at the time of election. At the same time, only a minority continued to retain their membership in the power elite of the nationwide level after their resignations.