The State Duma opened the autumn session with mixed statements

On September 13, the State Duma began the work of the autumn session. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that “the session promises to be tense”: the Duma’s portfolio now “has 1,342 bills, 314 of which were adopted in the first reading, four in the second.”

The main document of the autumn session – the budget for the next three years, the draft of which the government will submit by October 1 (and will be considered by the White House this week) will require special efforts from the Duma members. In addition, the Duma members will deal with a package of bills designed to revive passenger navigation on the Volga. Deputies from the respective regions have already united for this purpose in the Big Volga group. Volodin (who himself is from the Volga region of Saratov) suggested that they hold large parliamentary hearings both in Okhotny Ryad and in the subjects of the Russian Federation, which are connected by a river.

Parliamentary hearings will also be required for “significant resonant initiatives to ban information that promotes non-traditional relations.” Volodin considers the issue “very important”, and not only because the Duma already has two bills on this (introduced by United Russia Alexander Khinshtein and communist Nina Ostanina – both head committees in the lower house of parliament). “We have a huge number of requests to pass a law to ban propaganda that destroys our society and traditional family values,” he explained the need for public hearings. Khinshtein, however, has not yet introduced his bill and is ready to do so with the recall of the government, that is, at the end of September.

Volodin said that during the summer holidays he “repeatedly” met with the leaders of the factions: “We discussed the situation in Ukraine.” The outcome of those meetings was a statement “on the threats arising from the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant by the Kyiv regime.” The statement was adopted by the Council of the Duma, meeting for this purpose in August at an extraordinary meeting. Volodin noted that “the parliaments of the United States and European countries are silent on this issue.” Russian parliamentarians, meanwhile, last week discussed “a special military operation in Ukraine with their Chinese counterparts,” the speaker reported. According to Volodin, the Chinese colleagues believe that “Washington left Russia no other choice.”

The leaders of the factions spoke in different directions about the special operation. The most belligerent was the leader of A Just Russia, Sergei Mironov. He declared that “it’s time to say this word” and said it: “Mobilization!” – and immediately made a reservation that he meant “not military mobilization”, “mobilization in the heads” is necessary. Moreover, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that citizens would not be mobilized. Without the “liquidation of the Zelensky regime” throughout Ukraine, denazification is impossible, the leader of the Right-wing Russians is sure. But for the victory of the army, “mobilization in the economy, mobilization in the budget” is needed, he noted.

Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov called the special operation in Ukraine a word that Roskomnadzor does not allow to be mentioned in the media. He explained the difference between these events: “You can stop the military operation at any time. You cannot end the war.” He stressed that “we need a complete mobilization of the country,” and for this – “other laws.” Later, the press secretary of the Communist Party and State Duma deputy Alexander Yushchenko explained that Zyuganov spoke primarily about the mobilization of the economy, political system and resources of Russia.

But the leader of the Communist Party sees the main danger in “Russophobia and anti-Sovietism.” Zyuganov referred to the “fifth column” officials of all those regions where, during the last election campaign, “party lists were cut”, which helped to defeat the parties in power. The new leader of the LDPR, Leonid Slutsky, also spoke about the elections from the Duma rostrum: “The LDPR is satisfied with the results. This is the best answer to the skeptics who said how the Liberal Democratic Party could go down without [основателя ЛДПР Владимира] Zhirinovsky”. He called “to unite any political forces, any confessions, people of all ages to defend the country.”

The only one who did not talk about the special operation was Alexei Nechaev, leader of the New People faction. He only expressed bewilderment at the existing import substitution, which boiled down to the fact that “imports from the West are being replaced by imports from the East.” Instead, Nechaev offered to support small and medium-sized businesses in order to replace imports with their own production. About the last elections, Nechaev noted that the main task for the New People was “to compete not with other parties, but with yesterday’s selves.” The results of the competition, judging by the performance of Nechaev, pleased.