Russian Parliament Research Articles

Первый опыт участия в постсоветских парламентских выборах в Нижегородской области: страницы политической истории

The article is devoted to an important event in the political history of post-Soviet Russia, namely the first parliamentary elections in its history. The aim of the work was to determine the specifics of the results of the first elections of deputies of the Russian Parliament after the collapse of the USSR in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The tasks of the work are related to the study of the elections of deputies of the State Duma (both by single-mandate districts and by party lists), and the Federation Council. A number of conclusions are drawn regarding the political sympathies of residents of different administrative-territorial units of the Nizhny Novgorod region in the first half of the last decade. A kind of Nizhny Novgorod «red belt» is defined geographically, consisting of the southern districts of the region, as well as several districts of the north and east of the region, where voters mostly supported the left. It is revealed that the level of political activity in the elections is quite high, which is not surprising in view of the intense political life during the perestroika period in Gorky, and then in Nizhny Novgorod

МЕДИААКТИВНОСТЬ НОВЫХ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИХ ПАРТИЙ В ПРЕДДВЕРИИ ВЫБОРОВ В ГОСУДАРСТВЕННУЮ ДУМУ VIII СОЗЫВА: СОЦИОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ АНАЛИЗ

In September 2021 elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation will be held, where a number of new political parties take part, as well as parties that, due to a certain rebranding, can be designated as “renewed”. From the beginning of 2020, those parties began to engage in their promotion within the framework of the election campaign in various regional legislative bodies of state power. Due to the fact that almost all the new party projects under study had previously got seats in a number of legislative assemblies, they could be elected to the State Duma without collecting signatures. Considering that less than a month is left until the single election day, the authors decided to analyze the activities of those parties in terms of promotion in traditional and online media in order to assess the overall level of activity in the election campaign and trace its connection with the prospects for new political parties to enter the Russian Parliament. The authors also classify the parties under study by their type of organization, ideological orientation and determine the intermediate results of their activities within the framework of the election campaign.

Typology of electoral processes of recruiting the political elite of the lower house of the Russian parliament at the present stage

The article deals with the types of electoral political-elite recruitment proposed by the authors as a whole, as well as within the framework of electoral processes for elections to the State Duma. The latter type is divided into two subtypes: re-electoral and electoralconfirming. It is obvious that the second subtype is typical for recruiting election campaigns for elections to the lower house of the Russian parliament.

К ВОПРОСУ О ЗАКОНОДАТЕЛЬНЫХ ИНИЦИАТИВАХ И ЗАПРОСАХ ДЕПУТАТОВ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЙ ДУМЫ РОССИЙСКОЙ ИМПЕРИИ НАЧАЛА ХХ В. ТРЕТЬЕГО И ЧЕТВЕРТОГО СОЗЫВОВ ПО СОХРАНЕНИЮ КУЛЬТУРНОГО НАСЛЕДИЯ

An appeal to historical experience about the role of a new state body - parliament - in the field of protection of historical and cultural heritage is relevant not only in the academic sense. The purpose of the article is to consider parliamentary legislative initiatives and requests to the government on issues of historical and cultural heritage. The source of the article is the legislative materials of the Russian parliament. The article is based on a systematic approach, the principles of objectivity, historicism, and concreteness. Special methods were also applied: historical explanation, historical-legal, comparative-historical. It was revealed that changes in state cultural policy, including in the field of cultural heritage protection, are associated with the transition of Russia to a constitutional monarchy, which also meant limiting the legislative power of the emperor. Despite the undemocratic electoral law to the State Duma, society was given the opportunity to participate in legislation on the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The subject of the research was parliamentary legislative initiatives and requests to the government. Deputy inquiries made it possible to exercise parliamentary control over the Council of Ministers, which was formed by the king and was responsible only to him. A substantive analysis of five legislative initiatives, three requests and appeals is given. The legislative proposals were aimed at perpetuating memorable events and preserving individual monuments, for which significant financial allocations were required. On this issue, there was more mutual understanding between the deputies of various party factions and the government, although the cultural sphere was still financed on a leftover basis. Disagreements were much more serious when considering parliamentary inquiries related to intangible cultural heritage, in particular, attitude to the national language.

Комп’ютерний аналіз комунікативної активності українських та російських парламентських партій

Comparative analysis of Ukrainian and Russian Parliamentary Political Parties Communicative Activity is conducted in the paper. Emotionality and negativity indicators are interpreted. Computer analysis is used for the indicators calculation. News items from official sites of the parties are studied (“Servant of the People”, “Opposition Platform for Life”, “Bat’kivschyna”, “Eurosolidarity”, “United Russia”, “KPRF”, “LDPR”, “A Just Russia”). Is was discovered, that Ukrainian political parties demonstrates higher average indicators of emotionality (18,7%) and negativity (29,7%), that Russian ones (14,5% and 16% respectively). It was concluded, that the results point out to the differences between the political systems: a competitive one (Ukraine) and a controlled one (Russia). As far as Russian parties aren’t demand the government party control, the government itself and other ruling institutions, it’s influence their communication. On the contrary on the Ukrainian parties sites content incudes emotion statements and negativity. Only one Ukrainian party (“Servant of the People”, which formed the majority in the Parliament) had low indicators of emotionality and negativism. It was defined, that the main reason is low need of competition with other party and to criticize the modern government, police and secret services. The research demonstrated a significant attention towards political interactions imitation and leading forms of the imitation. The forms were defined with the more popular political intentions analysis. For the Ukrainian parties the prominent intention is “demand” (with “Servant of the People” as an exception). This is the result of high political struggle and political institutions active interactions. Meanwhile in Russia the intention was used to show the parties members work in the regions, the federal organs weren’t addressed. The same results were achieved with other intentions observation (“decide”, “support”). In majority of cases Russian parties were concentrated on their activity (or “struggle”) promotion in regions or unaddressed demands about social policy. Whereas for Ukrainian parties the current government critics, and (for two parties) Euro Atlantic integration of Ukraine support are significant.

Media Activity of Russian Parliamentary Parties on Runet Social Networks

Media Activity of Russian Parliamentary Parties on Runet Social Networks

Государственная дума и формирование новых национальных политических элит на Северном Кавказе (1906-1917 гг.)

 The aim of this research is to define the role of the very first Russian parliament in the formation of new political elite in the North Caucasus. The manifesto of October 17, 1905 along with guarantees of civil rights and freedoms, gave impetus to the creation of regional public and political organizations, the establishment and strengthening of national self-awareness and the national political elite of the peoples of Russia. The North Caucasus was no exception. Under the slogan of constitutional dialogue with the authorities, the local political elite sought to develop their own line of behavior. The article analyzes the activities of North Caucasian deputies in terms of solving the most pressing issues of social and economic life in the region. The scientific novelty of the research consists in considering the State Duma as the most important factor in the development of the political culture of the peoples of Russia. We conclude that the Duma presented new political opportunities to representatives of regions and peoples of the Empire. First of all, they could now get elected legally and legitimately for ethnic and regional representation in Russia's first Parliament; secondly, they got to represent their national interests from the Duma rostrum; and thirdly, it allowed them to establish ethnic and regional political organizations.

Цифровой менеджмент в деятельности российских политических партий: проблемное поле управления информационными потоками в социальных медиа

The article is devoted to the analysis of digital management of political parties and proto-party network actors in modern Russia. The author implements an analysis of the Internet practice of eight Russian parliamentary and non-parliamentary political parties, as well as proto-party network actors («United Russia», KPRF, LDPR, «Fair Russia», «Yabloko», Party of Growth, Libertarian Party Russia, «Russia of the Future») in April – June 2020, i.e. at a time when communications with electoral groups in the real environment were extremely limited. The calculation of the Digital Management Index of Russian political parties and pro-party network actors was carried out on the basis of comparing the following indicators: the development of the digital infrastructure; the intersection of offline and online networks; management of information flow in social media; personcentricity of information flow in social media; informality of information flow in social media; integration of information flow in social media; correspondence of the localization of the information flow to the target audience. A high level of potential to scale up electoral support through online communication with target audiences demonstrates the party «Russia of the Future». Most of the units of analysis («United Russia», KPRF, LDPR, LPR) fell into the second segment with an average level of adaptation to limiting communications in the real environment. «Fair Russia», «Yabloko» and Party of Growth demonstrated a low level of adaptation.

Парламент Российской Федерации: эволюция организации и функционирования

The article deals with the establishment, formation and activity of the Supreme representative (legislative) body of the Russian Federation. It is shown that the bicameral Parliament of the Russian state was formed under the influence of international, national political, legal and social development. It is noted that the essence of the bicameral Parliament is a legal reflection of the specifics of the development and state structure of Russia. The influence of reception and succession on the formation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation is considered. The article analyzes the consequences of modern constitutional changes in the sphere of political and legal status of the Russian Parliament and their subsequent impact on the state mechanism of the Russian Federation.

Главное в законе о цифровых финансовых активах

Last summer, the Russian Parliament adopted Federal Law No. 259-FZ, which established the procedure for regulating relations that arise during the issuance, accounting and circulation of digital fi nancial assets, as well as during the circulation of digital currency in the Russian Federation.

Правовой статус Совета Федерации в свете поправок к Конституции Российской Федерации

The purpose of the article is to consider the content of the main changes provided for by amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation proposed by the President of the Russian Federation in January 202, regarding regulation of the legal status of the Federation Council. Attention, in particular, is focused on expanding the personnel powers of the upper house of the Russian parliament, as well as changing the formation of the Fe­deration Council. It is substantiated that the amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation contribute to the improvement of the system of checks and balances, including by strengthening the role of parliament. This goal is also served by securing directly in the Constitution of the Russian Federation the control powers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, which for a long time was regulated solely in sectoral legislation. The article also proposes a solution to the issue of a different approach to the establishment of the term of office of senators from subjects and senators — representatives of the Russian Federation. The conclusion is made that the proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation contribute to strengthening the role of the Federation Council in the political life of the country.
 Within the framework of this research, we used formal logical (analysis) and comparative legal methods.

Власть оппозиции: парламентские процедуры на службе демократии (в контексте усиления роли парламента и политических партий в связи с поправками к Конституции Российской Федерации)

The new powers of the Russian Parliament in accordance with the Amendment to the Constitution of the Russian Federation of March 14, 2020 No. 1-FKZ “On improving the regulation of certain issues of the organization and functioning of public power” entrust the Parliament with additional responsibility for observing the rights and interests of the opposition. The concentration of political discussions from the street within the walls of the parliament should be the most important task of improving the legislation of the Russian Federation on parliamentary procedures, including with regard to the opposition, which clearly expresses the principles of multi-party system and political pluralism in the Russian parliament. The article analyzes the status of the opposition under Russian and foreign law, the powers of the opposition and the procedure for their implementation, the ability of the opposition to really influence the decisions made by the parliament, including the initiative to consider them (as in the case of the parliamentary investigation). The author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to improve the status of the opposition in the Russian Federation, taking into account foreign experience.

2020 Constitutional Reform and Center-Region Relations in Russia

This article examines 2020 constitutional reform in Russia. The amendments recently were approved on July, 1st by nation-vide vote. The purpose of the article is to analyze center-region trends in Russia and how they are reflected in the proposed constitutional amendments. The prospective changes in regional representation in the federal decision-making process shall also be discussed. 
 
 The article shows how chaotic decentralization during the 90-s was replaced by a trend of centralization. The 2020 constitutional reform reflects a further strengthening of this centralization trend. The problems faced by the Russian regions are left unresolved. It is becoming an overcentralized country.
 
 The amended Russian Constitution envisages a reformed role for the Russian State Council. It is supposed to be defined in the Constitution as a consultative body by the President and is expected to be formed of regional leaders. At the same time, the Federal Council of the Federal Assembly (the upper chamber of the Russian parliament), which represents the different constituencies, is also set to be reformed. However, after the reform some of its powers shall be restricted. The changes to regional representation in the federal decision-making process has a controversial and inconsistent character and inevitably supports the general trend towards centralization.

Legitimacy of Power and Constitutional Continuity

The paper analyzes the views of Prof. Ekaterina I. Kozlova concerning the lost values of the procedures institutionalizing the Russian Parliament, the risks of inconsistent implementation of mechanisms of recognition of powers of elected deputies of legislatures, peculiarities of procedures under consideration in other countries. The author has determined the mechanisms of ensuring legitimacy of power. The paper provides arguments in favour of preserving legal traditions, customs and rituals to ensure the stability of the constitutional order. The hypothesis has been put forward that constitutional identity and continuity of historical development are covered by the concept of constitutional continuity. It is concluded that the study of the constitutional continuum as a concept reflecting the natural relations between different conditions of the constitutional order can contribute to the ensuring of the legitimacy of the power and finding the best ways of transforming the constitutional and legal system.

Organization of elections among the native and foreign population in the first State Duma

The study is devoted to the elections to the first Russian parliament among the representatives of the so-called “native” and “foreign” population of the Russian Empire. It is shown that in the conditions of the revolutionary events of 1905-1906 at the highest bureaucratic level for Russian absolutism, the fundamental issue was the issue of delegating part of the legislative initiative to elected representatives of society. It is noted that under pressure from local administrations - the Turkestan Governor-General and Caucasian Viceroyalty - it was decided to entrust voting right in a truncated form to the peoples of the Caucasus (Caucasian Viceroyalty), Turkestan Territory (Semipalatinsk Oblast), the Steppe Territory and the nomadic foreigners of Russian provinces and regions. It is indicated that a comparative analysis of official documentation on elective production and periodicals on the outskirts allows us to consider in detail the very process of the first elections, its differences and similarities in parts of the empire. The author concludes that the election rules proposed by the center made it possible for people who are not connected with the local administration to be represented by their people in the first State Duma. The analysis of the biographies of the candidates showed that the ethnic factor played a greater role than their political views.

Изменения в законодательстве о национальной платежной системе

Last summer, the Russian Parliament, by adopting Federal Laws of August 2, 2019 No. 264-FZ and July 3, 2019 No. 173-FZ, introduced serious changes to the current legislation on the national payment system. According to parliamentarians, this will allow the state to signifi cantly strengthen control over the payment services market in order to maintain the integrity of the country’s payment space.

М.А. Караулов – «монархист – демократ» Государственной думы (1907–1917)

An important task of the modern study of the history of parliamentarism in Russia is to determine the role of the first Russian parliament in the formation of the new political elite of the North Caucasus. The article analyzes the parliamentary activity of one of the greatest figures of his time, M.A. Karaulov, the deputy of the 2nd and 4th State Dumas from the Terek Cossack Army. In the course of the content analysis of the transcripts, the deputy’s legislative assumptions about the organization of local self-government in the Cossack troops, the introduction of zemstvo institutions in the Cossack lands, and the change in the appeal of the Cossacks to active military service were revealed. The article also shows his work as the secretary of the commission on the Old Believer issue and a member of the commission on military and naval affairs, and the commission on the direction of legislative assumptions.

Federation Council – from deputies to senators. On the evolution of the for-mation of the upper House of the Russian parliament

Federation Council – from deputies to senators. On the evolution of the for-mation of the upper House of the Russian parliament

В интересах контроля за финансовыми потоками

Th e Russian Parliament continues to strengthen legislative control over the movement of fi nances, taking into account the requirements of the time, the market and the recommendations of the Group for the Development of Financial Measures against Money Laundering. Th e Federal laws No. 32-FZ and No. 33-FZ adopted in the mainstream of this work on March 18, 2019 are designed to signifi cantly activate the market and at the same time limit the possibilities of financial fraudsters.

Russia’s Political System from March to October 1917: Basic Features and Stages of Development

This article analyzes the formula of authority that constituted the basis for the Provisional Government. The author labels this formula the Third of March system. The Third of March system began to dissolve during the political crisis of the “April days”, when the Provisional Government decided to jettison the formulation of its authority that had been so convenient to the Chairman of the State Duma, Mikhail Vladimirovich Rodzianko. The government had contemplated vesting sovereign authority in the Temporary Committee of the State Duma, thereby resurrecting the legislative function of the bicameral Russian parliament, and making the legislature responsible to the executive. The Third of March system finally disintegrated on 6 October 1917, when the Provisional Government dispersed the State Duma and recognized that the authority of members of the State Council had lost its force. The demolition of the Third of March political system led to the liquidation of the Provisional Government’s authority.