Broadcasts of special importance – Newspaper Kommersant No. 47 (7492) of 03/21/2023

Sardana Avksentyeva, deputy head of the New People faction, suggests resuming broadcasts of State Duma meetings on the Internet. She plans to send the corresponding letter (Kommersant has it) to State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin on Tuesday. In the letter, Ms. Avksentieva warns that the lack of broadcasts could negatively affect public confidence in parliament. She is also concerned about the difficulties of regional journalists who have been cut off from observing the work of the chamber, as they cannot physically attend its meetings. However, a Kommersant source in the Duma notes that Mr. Volodin’s position on Internet broadcasts has not changed. Does not see the need to return to the practices of “maximum openness” and the deputy head of the faction “United Russia” (ER) Yevgeny Revenko.

Council of the Duma He has made a decision interrupt the long-term practice of online broadcasts of plenary sessions on the website of the Chamber on October 17, 2022 at the initiative of Viacheslav Volodin. According to Kommersant’s sources in the Duma, then the speaker explained his initiative by the fact that the agenda of the meetings became saturated with issues of legislative support for the special operation. The deputies did not object and even met this idea with applause. The broadcast remained only in the Duma press center, which can be visited by accredited journalists (now there are about 1,000 of them, including photographers and cameramen). At the same time, the discussion of the agenda of the meeting is held in a completely closed mode.

In her letter to the speaker, Sardana Avksentyeva recalls that in October the decision to cancel broadcasts was supported by all factions, including the New People, but now, in her opinion, “the situation has somewhat stabilized” and this decision “needs to be corrected.”

“By focusing on security, we left the principles of openness behind the scenes. We see that today, in difficult times for the country, the interest of our fellow citizens in the legislative process is enormous. Confidence in the deputy corps is estimated by sociologists as unprecedentedly high. It seems to me that right now, when maximum consolidation is required from society, it is important to maintain this trend and not spill it, ”writes Ms. Avksentieva. She fears MPs risk losing public confidence by shutting down the legislative process.

Sardana Avksentyeva explained to Kommersant that she is also concerned about the difficulties in the work of regional and municipal media, which are unable to send journalists to the Duma. “The federal media quickly describe only the key decisions of the parliament and often do not note the details that are important for specific regions and territories. This complicates the work of journalists and has a negative impact on informing people on key issues of lawmaking,” explains Ms. Avksentieva.

A source in the Duma apparatus told Kommersant that Vyacheslav Volodin’s position on the issue of broadcasting meetings on the Internet has not changed since October.

Evgeny Revenko, deputy head of the United Russia faction, also believes that it is too early to return broadcasts. “The practice that has developed best suits the current situation,” Mr. Revenko explained to Kommersant. “We cannot discuss issues related to a special military operation in an absolutely open mode. We are all for maximum openness, but time and circumstances dictate their conditions, and it is irresponsible not to take this into account. Now is not the time for politicians to engage in self-promotion, now is the time for concentrated work on a common cause – the approach of victory over the enemy. At the same time, Mr. Revenko stressed that the journalists of the parliamentary pool who have the right to watch broadcasts are “trained professionals in their field” who “can distinguish between populism and seriously discussed issues.”

The first deputy head of the Communist Party faction, Nikolai Kolomeitsev, takes the opposite view and reminded Kommersant that he had already raised the issue of resuming Internet broadcasts at a meeting of the Duma. “We believe that everyone’s stupidity should be visible,” Mr. Kolomeitsev said. “Besides, the TV channels are biased, there is no parliamentary television as such. Previously, people at least on the Internet could evaluate the activities of certain deputies, and this is how some kind of controlled democracy turns out.” Yaroslav Nilov, deputy head of the LDPR faction, believes that broadcasting meetings for journalists is “already the release of information into the public plane,” and consideration of the agenda will be closed for the time being, because in this part of the meeting “delicate issues can be discussed.”

“I think that while a special military operation is underway and a sanctions war is being waged against Russia, deputies should be given the opportunity to discuss bills in this part in a calm manner,” said Nikolai Novichkov, deputy of the Just Russia – For Truth faction. “We do not close ourselves off from society , information about the meetings is constantly received. We do not hide anything, but we just need to take some inconvenience calmly. Our party has always advocated and advocates the openness of power. But now the situation is different.”

Ksenia Veretennikova