# State Duma The State Duma (Государственная Дума) is the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly (parliament), consisting of 450 deputies elected to five-year terms. It is the body that formally passes federal legislation, approves the prime minister's appointment, and can (in theory) impeach the president. In practice, under [[Vladimir Putin]]'s system, the Duma functions as a legislative rubber stamp for Kremlin priorities, with genuine policy debate occurring within the presidential administration rather than on the parliamentary floor. ## Composition and managed opposition The Duma is dominated by [[United Russia]], which has held a constitutional supermajority (more than two-thirds of seats) since 2007. Three other parties consistently hold seats — the Communist Party (KPRF), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), and A Just Russia — but all operate within boundaries acceptable to the Kremlin, a arrangement known as "systemic opposition." These parties provide the appearance of pluralism while reliably voting with United Russia on critical issues. Genuinely independent opposition candidates face systematic exclusion through registration barriers, media blackouts, and legal harassment. The most significant opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, was repeatedly barred from running for office through criminal convictions widely regarded as politically motivated. His death in prison in February 2024 effectively eliminated the last prominent challenge to the managed-opposition system. ## Historical context The name "Duma" reaches back to the pre-revolutionary State Duma of 1906–1917, Russia's first experiment with parliamentary government — an institution that the Tsar repeatedly dissolved when it proved insufficiently compliant. The echo is instructive: Russian legislative bodies have historically functioned as legitimacy-providing facades for executive power rather than as genuine checks on it. ## See Also - [[Russian Government]] — the system overview - [[Federation Council]] — the upper house - [[United Russia]] — the dominant party - [[Vladimir Putin]] — the figure who controls the system