Experts called the distinctive features of Russian parliamentarism

Requirements and requests for Russian parliamentarians have changed a lot, they are becoming more flexible, and real deeds and maximum consolidation are now coming to the fore. Daria Lantratova, Senator from the Lugansk People’s Republic, Deputy Secretary of the General Council of United Russia, said this at the round table “Russian Parliamentarism: Traditions, Present and Future” of the Expert Institute for Social Research (EISI).

Requirements have changed – first of all, deputies and senators must respond to changing circumstances, she noted. At first it was like this with the coronavirus pandemic, now it is in the context of a special military operation to help military personnel and their families, to integrate new regions. About 250 deputies of various levels voluntarily went to the front, Lantratova stressed.

“A parliamentarian cannot hide in his office, his work cannot be limited by the rules of any committee. He must help. This is the hallmark of today’s parliamentarian,” said the senator.

“Few of those who went to the State Duma [в 2021 г.], assuming that it will be at the very epicenter of historical events. The eighth convocation was renewed by half, many representatives of the volunteer corps came. A fifth party has appeared, the social activists. This predetermined in many respects the style of work of the Parliament in the conditions of the changed reality,” said Pavel Sklyanchuk, a political scientist and member of the Committee on Political Technologies of the Russian Association for Public Relations.

The features of the work of this convocation of the lower house are the ban on deputies traveling abroad, their trips to the front, the need for legislative registration of the integration of new territories and measures of social protection of participants in the special operation, the expert listed. The State Duma adapted to the new reality, despite the fact that the deputies were among the first to be struck down in their rights by external sanctions and limited in their ability to broadcast the country’s position on international platforms, he believes.

In the future, changes in legislation will be targeted, “targeted” in nature, Sklyanchuk believes. The parliament has developed a political culture of inter-party discussion, and the executive and legislative branches work together, he is sure. The vast majority of bills that have been considered recently were inter-factional, Lantratova added.

“External challenges provoked the need for internal restructuring. The Committee for Control and Regulations began to develop the KPIs of the committees, since the pace of adoption of bills became very important. Political time began to accelerate, it became especially valuable. Any delay would not be needed,” said Sklyanchuk.

Russia has a thousand-year history of parliamentarism, in which there were different periods, different forms of election, they corresponded to historical periods and features of the formation of statehood, said Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of Moscow State Pedagogical University.

“In the northern Russian cities, the history of veche democracy has reached its peak. A city-wide representation was elected, there were elections at the level of districts and streets, there was a representative body that united all elected persons,” he said.

Regional parliamentarism is developed in Russia – the deputy assemblies of the constituent entities of the Federation have the right to legislative initiative at the federal level, said Natalia Lindigrin, Director General of the Institute of Regional Problems. The Russian model of parliamentarism “balances itself over time,” she said.

April 27 is the Day of Russian parliamentarism. On this day in 1906 in St. Petersburg, in the Tauride Palace, the first State Duma began its work. In 2023, the parliament, relying on “centuries-old traditions of popular representation”, has become a significant part of the public authority system, said State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. Deputies should, in his opinion, “take a unified position in matters of state security and improving the quality of people’s lives” in the face of external challenges.