Another extraordinary – Newspaper Kommersant No. 152 (7353) of 08/22/2022

On Monday, State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin will discuss with the heads of factions the date and agenda of an extraordinary meeting of the council of the lower house of parliament. The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennady Zyuganov, initially proposed to hold it because of the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. According to a Kommersant source, the council meeting will be held this week, for the sake of which deputies from among the Duma leadership will return from vacation. The plenary session of the lower chamber is not planned yet. With the help of an emergency convocation of the council, the leadership of the Duma emphasizes its importance, while it is beneficial for the Russian authorities that accusations against other countries of the worsening situation at nuclear power plants come from the opposition faction, experts explain.

The reason for the extraordinary meeting of the Council of the Duma was the statement of Gennady Zyuganov in connection with the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which is under the control of Russian troops, “putting the world on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe.” It was sent to journalists last Thursday. The society, according to the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, “expects more energetic actions from the authorities to stop Zelensky’s state terrorism (Vladimir Zelensky, President of Ukraine.— “b”) and his gangs.

“The real consolidation of Russian society around a special military operation in Ukraine is the main condition for victory over neo-Nazism. It is possible only when society clearly understands the nature of the events and influences the decisions being made,” Mr. Zyuganov said in a statement. And since “the center of a fruitful dialogue between the executive branch and society is the parliament,” the Communists propose holding a meeting of the Duma Council in order to “discuss the current situation and work out additional measures to successfully complete the military-political operation.” According to the Duma’s regulations, the faction may formally demand an extraordinary plenary session, but Gennady Zyuganov did not do so.

Vyacheslav Volodin supported the proposal of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation: the press service of the Duma on Friday announced that the speaker and the leaders of the Duma factions would meet on August 22 for a meeting at which they would decide on the date of the meeting of the council of the chamber. According to a Kommersant source in the Duma, the council meeting is likely to be held this week as well. On his agenda is a statement on the events around the Zaporizhzhya NPP and bills submitted to the State Duma in July-August, which must be sent to the mailing list, says the interlocutor of Kommersant. The Council may also decide to extend the deadline for collecting amendments to the second reading of the resonant bill of United Russia deputy Artem Kiryanov on the creation of a single operator in the digital advertising market in Russia (adopted in the first reading on July 15). The Duma Committee on Economic Policy has already proposed extending this deadline until September 9th.

The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Leonid Slutsky, also agreed that “in such a situation, checking the clock is really necessary.” “We must clearly define our position and, possibly, appeal to international institutions and parliaments of the countries of the world regarding the safety of nuclear facilities on the territory of Ukraine and the inadmissibility of “nuclear terrorism” by the Kyiv junta,” he said after Mr. Zyuganov.

Recall that the deputies now have an official vacation (it will last until August 28), and the speaker of the State Duma, his deputies, faction leaders, heads of committees and other representatives of the leadership of the lower house are participating in council meetings. In July, after the end of the spring session, the council was already meeting for an extraordinary meeting: then it was decided to hold a plenary meeting on July 15, at which the deputies approved the Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov as Deputy Prime Minister. Commenting on the practice of extraordinary meetings of the council and the Duma as a whole, Vyacheslav Volodin likes to repeat that “politicians don’t have vacations.” However, this time, according to the interlocutor of Kommersant, it is not yet planned to hold a plenary meeting.

The leadership of the Duma wants to emphasize the role of the lower house in the ongoing events, including to compensate for the somewhat humiliating emergency meeting for the parliament in July on a not-so-urgent occasion, political scientist Mikhail Vinogradov believes. In addition, according to him, on the eve of the September single voting day, it is important for the authorities that all parties, including the Communist Party, clearly outline their position.

It is more convenient to lay responsibility for the hypothetical tragic consequences of the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant for the inhabitants of Ukraine and its neighboring European states on Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Joe Biden at the suggestion of the parliamentary opposition, argues political scientist Konstantin Kalachev. “Within the framework of the general dramaturgy, this looks quite logical. “United Russia” solves humanitarian issues, and the Communist Party – as an alarmist, behind it is the topic of risks and threats emanating from the Ukrainian side. And everyone is doing the same thing. Moreover, this demonstrates the unity of approaches, a broad consensus around a special military operation,” the expert believes.

Maria Makutina