The State Duma explained the return of broadcasts of meetings

The State Duma explained the return of broadcasts of meetings



From March 21, the State Duma resumed online broadcasts of plenary sessions on the website of the parliament and the Duma-TV channel, which were terminated in October 2022.

As State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin noted, since the introduction of restrictions on broadcasting, legislation has been formed aimed at protecting participants in a special military operation, and its law enforcement practice has been worked out. This is part of the proposals aimed at increasing the openness of the State Duma, said in a statement on the Telegram channel of the lower house of parliament.

“We are making a decision to enter a new level of openness, where we are talking, on the one hand, about maintaining the format of a closed conversation when discussing the agenda (until October 2022, it was discussed in an open mode. - Vedomosti), on the other hand, immediately after transition to the second question will start broadcasting on our resources. Together with the video conferencing mode for the regions and experts at major State Duma events and additional rates for press secretaries of committees, this will make it possible to more effectively ensure the publicity of the work of the State Duma,” Volodin said.

With a proposal to restore online broadcasts of the plenary sessions of the chamber to the speaker applied Deputy Head of the New People faction Sardana Avksentiev. According to her, “the situation has stabilized” compared to what it was in October 2022. “By focusing on security, we left, as they say, behind the scenes, the principles of openness,” the deputy said in a letter addressed to Volodin. The lack of broadcasts, according to Avksentieva, “makes it difficult for journalists to work, and has a negative impact on informing people on key issues of lawmaking.”

“The ban on broadcasts has had a negative impact on the work of regional and municipal media, which are unable to regularly visit Moscow to work in the State Duma. The federal media promptly describe only the key decisions of the parliament and often do not note the details that are important for specific regions and territories,” Avksentyeva told Vedomosti.

Tatyana Dyakonova, First Deputy Chairman of the Commission on Regulations and Ensuring the Activities of the State Duma, believes that the cancellation of the broadcast of plenary meetings in October 2022 was logical, since “many issues related to a special military operation had to be considered behind closed doors.” But in general, the format of the parliament's work remains open, and this is a "principled position," she told Vedomosti.

Online broadcasts build people's confidence in the actions of the State Duma, "they see that the discussions are open," said Dmitry Gusev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Control Committee and First Deputy Head of the Just Russia faction. “All closed issues can be discussed behind closed doors, and everything else does not require this,” he told Vedomosti.

All issues related to the conduct of a special military operation will continue to be considered in a closed format, but all other topics should be open, State Duma Vice Speaker Boris Chernyshov (LDPR) confirmed to Vedomosti.

Online broadcasts of meetings of the State Duma were stopped on October 18, 2022. Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin came to the deputies, who spoke about the relocation of residents of the Kherson region to other regions of Russia due to the shelling of the territory by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the beginning of this meeting, Volodin said parliamentarians that after Khusnullin's closed speech, the meetings will be broadcast only for journalists in the press center of the State Duma, but not on the website of the lower house.



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