The 1995 Law on the Election of Deputies of the State Duma as a Subject of Parliamentary Debate

Abstract

The article discusses the process of adoption by the Federal Assembly of a law on the election of deputies of the Second State Duma. This law, which became an integral part of the Russian electoral legislation of the 1990s, suddenly became the subject of political disagreement. The conflict was initiated by Duma deputies elected from political associations who wanted to reserve all the electoral opportunities that had been granted by the President in 1993. Defending electoral legislation in its original form, party leaders used various procedural tricks to pass the law they needed. However, such tactics, as well as fundamental differences between the State Duma and the Federation Council, whose deputies saw the electoral legislation differently, only aggravated the conflict. However, such tactics, as well as fundamental differences between deputies of the State Duma and the Council of the Federation, who had different ideas about electoral legislation, only aggravated the conflict. The president, who initially initiated the adjustment of electoral legislation, although he did not agree with the deputies of the Duma, was an arbitrator in this conflict, but was not an active participant. As a result, the conflicting parties managed to reach a compromise and coordinate their interests. The author positively assesses the consensus reached with the help of parliamentary mechanisms, but he believes that the results of this political deal have been devalued in the context of the general crisis in the country.