Duma’s Productivity on the Rise
At the 1000th session of the Russian State Duma (since 2003), members accepted congratulations from representatives of the branches of the government and state awards. If passing laws is seen as a form of productivity like any other, the parliamentarians deserve their accolades. The productivity of the Duma is growing steadily. In the second Duma (1996-1999), 4034 laws were introduced. The third Duma (2000-2003) considered 4327 laws, and fourth Duma (2004-2007) considered 4808 laws. The dynamics of the laws passed were somewhat different. (The second Duma passed 1045, the third 781 and the fourth 1087.) Nonetheless, the tendency toward growth remains.
This is the most representational method to judge the productivity of the Duma, since MPs activity clearly falls on election years and laws (1999, 2003, 2007) are passed more slowly. It is notable that many more laws than usual were introduced into the Duma and passed in 1999 and 2007. The government and president were able to restrain the Duma from populism only in the election year of 2003. That year, in spite of the record high number of bills introduced, fewer than usual – 180 – were passed.
On the whole, in spite of all the talk of the coming age of stability and the completion of the building of a market economy, the tendency toward increasingly complex and large legislation continues unabated. Most of the laws passed are amendments to pre-existing laws. Thus, legislation is also characterized by continual changeability. That is partially a reflection of the frequent change in the Russian government. Almost every government rejects the innovations of the previous one and initiates its own reform program. In the 1990s, the executive branch from time to time wanted to restrict the activeness of the legislative branch, but that is no longer the case. With the State Duma fully subordinate to the government and presidential administration, the majority of the laws passed originate in the government or Kremlin.
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All the Article in Russian as of May 26, 2008
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