The State Duma stripped deputies Vlasov and Belousov of their powers for absenteeism

The State Duma deprived two deputies of their powers – Vasily Vlasov (LDPR) and Vadim Belousov (A Just Russia – For Truth). The consideration of the issues of deprivation of mandates itself took place in a regime closed to journalists. The chairman of the commission on mandate issues, Otari Arshba, made a report on two draft resolutions.

Arshba said that the State Duma commission on regulations provided information that Belousov had never been to the State Duma for almost two years, one of the deputies from the plenary session told Vedomosti. Regarding Vlasov, the chairman of the commission on mandate issues did not provide such statistics. There was no discussion about Belousov; he himself was not present at the meeting because he is wanted. 320 deputies voted for the deprivation of the mandate of the Right Russia party, none voted against, and three abstained.

Vlasov spoke from the podium. He stated that LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky saw him as the leader of the LDPR faction in the State Duma (previously, Vlasov was the first deputy chairman of the faction since the fall of 2021). Zhirinovsky died in April 2022. 317 deputies voted for depriving the deputy of his powers, two were against, two abstained.

Vedomosti wrote on October 30 that Vlasov and Belousov would be deprived of their mandates this week. Then the head of the commission on regulations, Viktor Pinsky, told Vedomosti that Vlasov, who is a member of this commission, missed more than 60% of the commission’s meetings without good reason, and during the 8th convocation he was twice absent from its meetings for more than 40 days in a row. And the first deputy head of the committee for protection of competition, Igor Igoshin, said that a member of their committee, Belousov, systematically does not attend committee meetings.

According to Art. 4 of the law on the status of senators and deputy of the State Duma, the powers of a deputy can be terminated early by a decision of the lower chamber on the initiative of the faction in which he is a member, or on the initiative of a committee of which he is a member, in the event of failure to fulfill his duties for 30 or more calendar days. Among these responsibilities are communication with voters, consideration of their appeals, participation in meetings of the State Duma, committees, commissions of which he is a member.

According to the system for analyzing voting results at State Duma meetings in the 8th convocation, Vlasov participated in 160 out of 162 plenary meetings, that is, he was present at 98.8% of plenary meetings. In the VII convocation, out of 365 plenary meetings, attended 356 meetings (97.5%). In the 8th convocation, Belousov attended only 48 of 162 meetings (29.6% presence). In the VII convocation, the Right Russia missed 41 out of 365 meetings (88.8% of attendance).

Vlasov told Vedomosti that he did not agree that he was being deprived of his mandate and that he did not miss work in the State Duma. He associates this decision with the fact that it “raises uncomfortable questions,” including regarding the Wagner PMC: “My main employer is the voters. And I am ready to report to them about how I attended meetings of the State Duma and the commission. Apparently, this faction leadership is dissatisfied with my harsh statements.” At the same time, Vlasov accused LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky of being behind the deprivation of his mandate.

But four of Vedomosti’s interlocutors in the State Duma still link the deprivation of Vlasov’s powers with his work with PMCs. For example, in his deputy reception you could sign up as a volunteer. Searches took place there.

Vadim Belousov was a deputy of three convocations. In December 2018, the State Duma gave consent to the Prosecutor General’s Office to deprive him of immunity. A criminal case was initiated against him under Part 6 of Art. 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (receiving a bribe on an especially large scale). Belousov is wanted. The last time he voted in the Duma was at plenary sessions on June 14, 2022. In August 2022, Belousov was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of 500 million rubles, and in May of this year the sentence came into force.

Political writer Oleg Zakharov noted the strangeness that Belousov was deprived of his powers for absenteeism, and not for a criminal record. In the event of “the entry into force of a court’s conviction against a person who is a deputy of the State Duma,” as stated in the law, the powers of the deputy are terminated, he told Vedomosti. Moreover, according to the law, the State Duma should have deprived Belousov of his powers within a month after the verdict came into force.