Duma
The Duma (Ду́ма in Russian) is the name of the lower house of the Russian parliament. Under Russia's 1993 constitution, there are 450 deputies of the State Duma (Article 95), each elected to a term of four years (Article 96). Russian citizens at least 21 years old are eligible to run for the Duma (Article 97).
Duma in imperial Russia
Triggered by the brutality of Bloody Sunday, the 1905 revolution spread chaos and disorder throughout Russia and bought the country to a standstill. Tsar Nicholas II, under the pressure of revolution, reluctantly announced the October Manifesto, which allowed freedom of speech and formation of a Duma.
However, Nicholas II was determined to retain his autocratic power. Just before the creation of Duma in May 1906, the Tsar issued the Fundamental Laws, which contradicted the October Manifesto in several important ways. It stated that Tsar's ministers could not be appointed by and were not responsible to the Duma, thus denying representative government at the executive level. Furthermore, the Tsar has the power to dismiss the Duma and announce new elections whenever he wishes.
Election for the First Duma, which opened in July 1906, returned a significant bloc of moderate socialists and both liberal parties who demanded further reforms. It was dissolved within ten weeks.
The Second Duma in February 1907 was equally short-lived. Using emergency power, Prime Minister Petr Stolypin changed the electoral law and gave greater electoral value to the votes of nobility and landowners. This ensured the Third Duma would be dominated by gentry, landowners and businessmen.
Between 1907 and 1912, the Octobrist-dominated Third Duma ran its course. Being more oriented towards conservative positions, it was able to last its full five-years term. The assassination of Stolypin and increasingly reactionary policies of the Tsar and his Imperial Council further weakened the significance of the Third Duma.
The Fourth Duma of 1912ÃÂ1917 was also of limited political influence; however, it played a role in the events of 1917, partly cooperating with the provisional government. It was dissolved in the course of the Russian revolution.