State Duma of the Russian Federation of the 7th Convocation: Between “Sleeping Potential” and Party Discipline

In the run-up to the elections of 18 September 2016, suggestions were made that a change in the rules for electing the State Duma (a return to a mixed majority-proportional system) would affect the qualitative composition of the deputy corps.^11. See for example Kynev, Lyubarev, Maximov 2015; Mintusov (ed.) 2016; Mixed districts 2016. Today, a year since the Duma campaign, we already have sufficient information to move from hypothetical arguments to a specific study not only of the composition, but also the style of work of the new parliament.

Existing data allow us to say that two different tendencies exist in the Duma. One of them is connected with the change in the composition of the deputy corps, caused by the addition of a majority component, which has influenced the principles of selecting candidates, and by a number of other causes—from the assumption of a low turn-out to the emergence of new bans and restrictions in legislation. Another involves the change in style of work of the lower chamber of the Federal Assembly. Besides efforts directly toward reducing scandalous behavior and overcoming the reputation of a “maniacal printer,” this concerns attempts by the leadership of the Duma in general and individual parliamentary groups to regulate and centralize the lawmaking process as much as possible. If the first tendency involves increasing political independence of deputies (as a consequence of the increase of the importance of their personal qualities at elections), the second means an even greater reduction of their influence on decisions taken by the Duma. This article provides a detailed analysis of these tendencies.     

Duma-2014 Report

Why do hybrid regimes imitate democratic institutions? Do they serve exclusively as a showy formality for the external, mainly Western, audiences or do they perform some substantive functions within the framework of a political system? Within the broader context of diffusion of ideas across countries, the author of this paper explains the nature of the Russian State Duma, which, over the last 10 years, has become a kind of administrative stock exchange for the Russian political elites, and challenges the common simplistic view of the current Russian legislative process as “rubber-stamping” orchestrated by the executive branch.     

The Issue Is Absolutely Clear!

If Iu, Vizbor and D. Sukharev were graduates of the Department of Journalism, I would wonder whether these lines of the famous song Aleksandr contained a coded reference to the appointment of Iasen Nikolaevich Tasurskii, a young lecturer from the Department of Foreign Press and Literature, to chairmanship of the Department of Journalism.     

Will We Be Able to Stop It?

The ability to effectively oppose political extremism will be helped by a law that the Duma has begun to consider.     

The Kremlin and the Government Do Not Agree with the Duma

At the last session of the Duma, the deputies adopted amendments to the law on local self-government, allowing the reform, against which the governors have as a body been actively speaking out recently, to be "forgotten" for a time by the regions.     

The Soldiers Did Not Know Why They Were Sent to Chechnya

The soldiers did not know why they were sent to Chechnya, believes Vladimir Bauer, chairman of the Committee on the Organization of the Work of the State Duma, who visited Chechnya and Ingushetia at the head of a Duma committee of observers.     

Defending the Institutional Status Quo: Communist Leadership of the Second Russian State Duma, 1996–99

The 1995 Russian parliamentary elections returned a State Duma dominated by an alliance of the Communist Party (CPRF) and the Agrarian (APG) and Popular Power (PP) groupings, whose combined number fell just four votes short of an overall majority. Such a powerful voting bloc might have been expected to undo the power‐sharing principles on which the First Duma (1994–95) operated. Rather than challenge the status quo, however, the CPRF defended it on several occasions. In this paper, I argue that existing arrangements held benefits for the CPRF and its leftist allies. In the absence of a stable, disciplined majority, the Duma's rules gave leftist deputies the incentives and flexibility to organize collectively.     

Presidential Support in the Russian State Duma

Recent comparative research on presidential systems has analyzed the ways in which presidents build majorities for their legislative agendas. Through an analysis of roll‐call votes from the 2000‐03 Russian State Duma on a set of issues reflecting President Putin's legislative agenda, I examine the impact of parliamentary party affiliation, policy preferences, issue type, and electoral mandate type on structuring floor support for the president. I also assess the implications of a mixed electoral system for building legislative coalitions in multiparty legislatures. Further, my findings shed light on Putin's recent reforms of the Duma's rules and procedures and the country's electoral system.     

Gennady Korepanov: "We Are Obliged to Guard Russian Citizens Against Cruelty"

The speaker of the Tiumen Oblast Duma Sergei Korepanov argues that the chief tasks of the police reform are to forewarn citizens about possible crimes and to prepare a new kind of police.     

Dissidence at IMEMO

I still recall a talk I had long ago with Academician Aleksandr Erminingel'dovich Arbuzov, the distinguished Soviet chemist. When asked what trait he considered most important in a scientist, he replied: "Honesty!"     

The Internet as a New Factor in State and Public Development

On 14 March, when the State Duma introduced a bill that would have instituted a moratorium on executions, it almost had to dissolve itself—not completely, of course, for a quorum was maintained, but almost. Before the bill was put up for discussion, the LDPR [Liberal Democratic Party of Russia] faction (50 people) left (on private business), and during the final vote 193 deputies abstained; whether they went for a walk or simply stayed in their seats but did not press the button is unknown, but they refused to deal with one of the questions that is most important for Russia's future (there were 176 votes "against" and 75 "for" the bill).     

The biochemical alteration of soil beneath a decomposing carcass

The processes associated with cadaver decomposition in outdoor settings, particularly those that occur during the extended postmortem interval (>30 days) are poorly understood. Thus, few methods are currently available to accurately estimate the extended postmortem interval (PMI). Of these methods, a soils-based approach has the potential to address the postmortem interval between which entomology and anthropology are the most valuable. Although the validity of soil-based methods has previously been established, little work has been conducted to explain the processes that have been designated for forensic application. As a consequence, we investigated the dynamics of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus-based compounds in soil beneath pig (Sus scrofa) cadavers (gravesoil) that were placed on the soil surface over a period of 100 days. Decomposition was assessed through the physical characteristics of the cadaver, soil pH, soil moisture content, and the concentration of total carbon, total nitrogen, soil-extractable phosphorus, and lipid-phosphorus in soil. Cadaver decomposition did not result in a significant difference in soil carbon and moisture content. However, significant (P < 0.05) increases were observed in the concentration of soil pH, total nitrogen, soil-extractable phosphorus, and lipid-phosphorus. Based on the current results, a significant increase in the concentration of gravesoil nutrients represented a maximum PMI of 43 days (lipid-P), 72 days (total nitrogen), or 100 days (soil-extractable phosphorus). This work provides further evidence that a soil-based method has the potential to act as a tool for the estimation of extended PMI.     

Strangers Among Their Own

Police Major-General Aleksandr Makarov, head of the Chief Directorate of Internal Security of the MVD of Russia, discusses the work of the Internal Security Service of the MVD.     

Deterrence,Firearm Arrests,and Subsequent Shootings: A Micro-Level Spatio-Temporal Analysis

Do police firearm arrests reduce later shootings in nearby locations and in the days immediately following the arrest? This question is examined at a more detailed level than in previous work in order to better describe the spatio-temporal dynamics linking these two event types. All firearm arrests (n?=?5,687) and shootings (n?=?5,870) in Philadelphia from 2004 to 2007 were analyzed using a modified close-pair method. Following a firearm arrest shootings declined significantly, 28–47% up to a couple of blocks away. These significant declines, however, lasted for just a few days. Overall, results suggest police firearm suppression effects occur, may extend up to two blocks away from a firearm arrest, but also are short-lived. Potential implications for deterrence are discussed.     

Reform at a Half Year from Readiness,or What Exactly "Independence in the Resolution of Questions of Local Significance" Is Going to Mean

The heat of the discussion on the coming municipal reform has reached a high point. Evidence of this can be found, in particular, in what happened in the Kaliningrad State Council. Unfortunately, the time until the start of the active phase of the reform—on January 1, 2006—is growing smaller and smaller, while the number of questions that need to be resolved is not diminishing, and is even increasing. On July 8, the State Duma is to consider a law concerning the date for the beginning of the reform. And from all indications, the deputies will not be hurrying it.     

Law of the Russian Federation On "Charitable Activity and Charitable Organizations" Federal Law No. 135-FZ of August 11, 1995

Justices who disagree with the plans of the governing majority to review the provisions of the fundamental law and to repeal the constitutional reform of 2004 are leaving the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU). Their letters of resignation will be considered tomorrow by the Congress of Judges of Ukraine. One of the four CCU justices who has decided to resign, Iarolsava Machuzhak, told Kommersant correspondent Aleksandr Sviridenko about the reasons for this decision and the current state of affairs inside the court.     

Influence of rain and malathion on the oviposition and development of blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) infesting rabbit carcasses in Kelantan, Malaysia

The influence of rain and malathion on the initial oviposition as well as development of blowfly species infesting rabbit carcasses decomposing in sunlit and shaded habitats were studied over a period of 1 year in Kelantan, Malaysia. Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) was the most dominant species that infested the carcasses, followed by Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart). In general, rain, depending on its intensity, delayed initial oviposition by 1–2 days and prolonged the pupation period by 1–3 days. The presence of malathion in the carcasses delayed initial oviposition by 1–3 days and prolonged the pupation period by 2–3 days. These findings deserve consideration while estimating postmortem interval since rain is a commonplace occurrence in Malaysia and malathion is one of the common poisons as an agent for choice to commit suicide.     

Author Index to Soviet Law and Government Volume 30 (Summer 1991-Spring 1992)

Two more retirements took place in the upper echelons of the Russian government at the beginning of February [1996]. Two eminent jurists left their posts in the president's administration: Aleksandr Iakovlev, the president's representative to the Federal Assembly, and Valerii Savitskii, the president's representative to the Constitutional Court. Kuranty correspondent Lev Lin interviewed Professor Valerii Mikhailovich Savitskii, a distinguished scholar of the Russian Federation and doctor of legal sciences.     

A note on exogenous changes in incentives for and deterrence of corruption

In this note we amend the model elaborated by Acemoglu and Verdier (2000, The American Economic Review, 90(1),194–211), to examine how agents respond to an exogenous change in incentives. In particular, we apply the theoretical framework to the consequences on the corruption level in Italy of a famous sentence of the Italian Corte di Cassazione in plenary session: in this sentence, no. 500 of 1999, a revolutionary interpretation of the law has increased the area of civil liability for both the public administration and bureaucrats. This is one of the few cases in which the judge substantially legislates in a system of civil law, and the modification in incentives towards or away from corruption comes from an authority that is not part of the game.      

The Place of Local Power

What is the reform of local self-government? How will its conduct affect the life of the country? How will the tax and social policies of the state change? The main author of the reform, deputy head of the President's Administration Dmitry Kozak, participating in the "Business Breakfast" at Rossiiskaia gazeta, talks about this on the eve of the second reading in the Duma of the packet of draft laws on the reform of federative relationships and of local self-government.