Dissolution of the 1st State Duma of the Russian Empire. Activities of the I and II State Dumas. Structure and regulations of the State Duma

State Duma of the Russian Empire

State:	Russia: Russian Empire (1905-1917) Russian Republic (1917) Officially called simply “Russia”, the republican form of government and the new name were officially announced only on September 1 (14), 1917
Year of foundation:
Subsequent Parliament:	Provisional Council of the Russian Republic (as an advisory body)
Year of abolition:
Latest elections:
Meeting room address:	Tauride Palace

State Duma of the Russian Empire- legislative institution of the Russian Empire. The Duma was the lower house of parliament, the upper house was the State Council of the Russian Empire. There were 4 convocations of the State Duma.

Story

Before 1905, the Russian Empire lacked any representative Legislature. Its appearance was the result of the 1905 revolution.

On August 6, 1905, the Manifesto of Nicholas II established the State Duma as “a special legislative establishment, which is provided with the preliminary development and discussion of legislative proposals and consideration of the breakdown of state revenues and expenses”. The development of the election regulations was entrusted to the Minister of Internal Affairs Bulygin, the convening date was set - no later than half of January 1906. However, the provisions on elections to the Duma developed by the commission headed by Bulygin and approved by the Tsar’s manifesto of August 6, 1905 (only limited categories of persons were given the right to vote: large owners of real estate, large payers of trade and housing taxes, and - on special grounds - peasants) caused strong discontent in society, numerous protest rallies and strikes eventually resulted in the All-Russian October Political Strike, and elections to the Bulygin Duma did not take place.

The new basis for the legislative competence of the State Duma was clause 3 of the Manifesto of October 17, 1905, which established “as an unshakable rule that no law could take effect without the approval of the State Duma.” This norm was enshrined in Art. 86 of the Basic Laws of the Russian Empire as amended on April 23, 1906: “No new law can be enacted without the approval of the State Council and the State Duma and take force without the approval of the Sovereign Emperor.” From an advisory body, as established by the Manifesto * of August 6, 1905, the Duma became a legislative body.

The first meeting of the State Duma took place on April 27, 1906 at the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg.

Distribution of State Duma deputies by party



People's Socialists
Trudoviks
Progressive Party

Autonomists
Octobrists
Nationalists

Non-partisan

I convocation

Convened in accordance with the electoral law of December 11, 1905, according to which 49% of all electors belonged to peasants. Elections to the First State Duma took place from March 26 to April 20, 1906.

Elections of Duma Deputies took place not directly, but through the election of electors separately for four curiae - landowning, urban, peasant and workers. For the first two, the elections were two-degree, for the third - three-degree, for the fourth - four-degree. The RSDLP, national social democratic parties, the Socialist Revolutionary Party and the All-Russian Peasant Union announced a boycott of the elections to the Duma of the first convocation.

Of the 448 deputies of the State Duma of the first convocation, there were 153 cadets, 63 autonomists (members of the Polish Kolo, Ukrainian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and other ethnic groups), 13 Octobrists, 97 Trudoviks, 105 non-party members and 7 others.

The first meeting of the State Duma took place on April 27, 1906 at the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg (after a reception with Nicholas II in the Winter Palace). Cadet S.A. Muromtsev was elected chairman. The chairman's comrades are Prince P. D. Dolgorukov and N. A. Gredeskul (both cadets). Secretary - Prince D.I. Shakhovskoy (cadet).

The first Duma worked for 72 days. Two projects on the agrarian issue were discussed: from the Cadets (42 signatures) and from deputies of the Duma labor group (104 signatures). They proposed the creation of a state land fund to allocate land to the peasantry. The Cadets wanted to include state, appanage, monastery, and part of the landowners' lands in the fund. They advocated the preservation of exemplary landowner farms and the alienation of the land that they lease at the market price. To provide for the peasants, the Trudoviks demanded that plots be allocated to them according to the labor standard at the expense of state, appanage, monastic and private lands that exceed the labor standard, the introduction of egalitarian labor land use, the announcement of a political amnesty, the liquidation of the State Council, and the expansion of the legislative rights of the Duma.

On May 13, a government declaration appeared, which declared the forced alienation of land unacceptable. Refusal to grant political amnesty and expand the prerogatives of the Duma and introduce the principle of ministerial responsibility to it. The Duma responded with a decision of no confidence in the government and replacing it with another. On June 6, Esser’s even more radical “project of 33” appeared. It provided for the immediate and complete destruction of private ownership of land and its declaration with all its mineral resources and waters common property the entire population of Russia. On June 8, 1906, the Tsarist government, under the pretext that the Duma not only did not calm the people, but was further inciting unrest, dissolved it.

The Duma members saw the dissolution manifesto on the morning of the 9th on the doors of Tavrichesky. After this, some of the deputies gathered in Vyborg, where on July 9-10, 200 deputies signed the so-called. Vyborg Appeal.

II convocation

In terms of its composition, it was generally to the left of the first, since Social Democrats and Socialist Revolutionaries took part in the elections. Convened in accordance with the electoral law of December 11, 1905. Of the 518 deputies there were: Social Democrats - 65, Socialist Revolutionaries - 37, People's Socialists - 16, Trudoviks - 104, Cadets - 98 (almost half as many as in the first Duma), right-wing and Octobrists - 54, autonomists - 76, non-party members - 50, the Cossack group numbered 17, the party of democratic reforms is represented by one deputy. Cadet F.A. Golovin was elected chairman. The chairman’s comrades are N. N. Poznansky (non-party leftist) and M. E. Berezin (trudovik). Secretary - M.V. Chelnokov (cadet). The Cadets continued to advocate the alienation of part of the landowners' land and its transfer to the peasants for ransom. Peasant deputies insisted on nationalization of the land.

On June 1, 1907, Prime Minister Stolypin accused 55 deputies of plotting against the royal family. The Duma was dissolved by decree of Nicholas II on June 3 (June Third Coup).

III convocation

Simultaneously with the decree on the dissolution of the Duma of the second convocation, on June 3, 1907, a new Regulation on elections to the Duma, that is, a new electoral law, was published. According to this law, a new Duma was convened. Elections took place in the fall of 1907. In the 1st session of the State Duma of the 3rd convocation, there were: extreme right-wing deputies - 50, moderate-right and nationalists - 97, Octobrists and those associated with them - 154, “progressives” - 28, cadets - 54, Trudoviks - 13, Social Democrats - 19, Muslim group - 8, Lithuanian-Belarusian group - 7, Polish Kolo - 11. This Duma was significantly more to the right than the previous two.

The chairmen of the Duma of the 3rd convocation were: N. A. Khomyakov (Octobrist) - from November 1, 1907 to March 4, 1910, A. I. Guchkov (Octobrist) from October 29, 1910 to March 14, 1911. , M. V. Rodzianko (Octobrist) from March 22, 1911 to June 9, 1912

Comrades of the chairman - Prince. V. M. Volkonsky (moderate right), bar. A. F. Meyendorff (Octobrist) from November 5, 1907 to October 30, 1909, S. I. Shidlovsky (Octobrist) from October 30, 1909 to October 29, 1910, M. Ya. Kapustin (Octobrist) from October 29, 1910 to June 9, 1912. Secretary - Ivan Sozonovich (right).

Five sessions were held: from November 1, 1907 to June 28, 1908, from October 15, 1908 to June 2, 1909, from October 10, 1909 to June 17, 1910, from October 15, 1910 to On May 13, 1911, from October 15, 1911 to June 9, 1912, the Third Duma, the only one of the four, served the entire five-year term prescribed by the law on elections to the Duma - from November 1907 to June 1912.

The Octobrists, a party of large landowners and industrialists, controlled the work of the entire Duma. Moreover, their main method was blocking on various issues with different factions. When they formed a bloc with the openly right-wingers, a right-wing Octobrist majority appeared; when they formed a bloc with the progressives and Cadets, an Octobrist-Cadet majority appeared. But the essence of the activity of the entire Duma changed slightly from this.

Acute disputes in the Duma arose on various occasions: on issues of reforming the army, on the peasant question, on the issue of attitude towards the “national outskirts”, as well as because of personal ambitions that tore apart the deputy corps. But even in these extremely difficult conditions, opposition-minded deputies found ways to express their opinions and criticize the autocratic system in the face of all of Russia. For this purpose, deputies widely used the request system. For any emergency, deputies, having collected a certain number of signatures, could submit an interpellation, that is, a demand for the government to report on its actions, to which one or another minister had to respond.

Great experience was accumulated in the Duma during the discussion of various bills. In total, there were about 30 commissions in the Duma. Large commissions, such as the budget commission, consisted of several dozen people. Elections of commission members were carried out at a general meeting of the Duma with the preliminary approval of candidates in the factions. In most commissions, all factions had their representatives.

Bills coming to the Duma from ministries were first of all considered by the Duma meeting, consisting of the Chairman of the Duma, his comrades, the Secretary of the Duma and his comrade. The meeting made a preliminary conclusion on sending the bill to one of the commissions, which was then approved by the Duma.

Each project was considered by the Duma in three readings. In the first, which began with a speech by the speaker, there was a general discussion of the bill. At the end of the debate, the chairman made a proposal to move to article-by-article reading.

After the second reading, the chairman and secretary of the Duma made a summary of all the resolutions adopted on the bill. At the same time, but no later than a certain period, it was allowed to propose new amendments. The third reading was essentially a second article-by-article reading. Its purpose was to neutralize those amendments that could pass in the second reading with the help of a random majority and did not suit influential factions. At the end of the third reading, the presiding officer put the bill as a whole with the adopted amendments to a vote.

The Duma's own legislative initiative was limited by the requirement that each proposal come from at least 30 deputies.

IV convocation

Elections to the IV State Duma

Preparations for the elections to the Fourth Duma began already in 1910: the government made great efforts to create the composition of the deputy corps it needed, as well as maximally involving clergy in the elections. It mobilized forces to prevent the aggravation of the internal political situation in connection with the elections, to hold them “silently” and, with the help of “pressure” on the law, to maintain and even strengthen its positions in the Duma, and to prevent its shift “to the left.” As a result, the government found itself in even greater isolation, since the Octobrists now firmly joined the legal opposition along with the Cadets.

Legislative activity

The last Duma in the history of autocratic Russia worked in the pre-crisis period for the country and the whole world. Five sessions took place between November 1912 and February 1917. Two occurred in the pre-war period and three during the First World War. The first session took place from November 15, 1912 to June 25, 1913, the second from October 15, 1913 to June 14, 1914, and the emergency session took place on July 26, 1914. The third session met from January 27 to 29, 1915, the fourth from July 19, 1915 to June 20, 1916, and the fifth from November 1, 1916 to February 25, 1917.

In composition it differed little from the third; there was a significant increase in clergy in the ranks of deputies.

Among the 442 deputies of the State Duma of the IV convocation, nationalists and moderate right - 120, Octobrists - 98, rightists - 65, cadets - 59, progressives - 48, three national groups (Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian group, Polish Kolo, Muslim group) numbered 21 deputies , Social Democrats - 14 (Bolsheviks - 6, Mensheviks - 7, 1 deputy, who was not a full member of the faction, joined the Mensheviks), Trudoviks - 10, non-party - 7. Octobrist M.V. Rodzianko was elected Chairman of the Duma. The chairman's comrades were: Prince. D. D. Urusov (progressive) from November 20, 1912 to May 31, 1913, book. V. M. Volkonsky (non-party, moderate right) from December 1, 1912 to November 15, 1913, N. N. Lvov (progressive) from June 1 to November 15, 1913, A. I. Konovalov (progressive) from November 15, 1913 to May 13, 1914, S. T. Varun-Sekret (Octobrist) from November 26, 1913 to November 3, 1916, A. D. Protopopov (left Octobrist) from May 20, 1914 to September 16, 1916, N.V. Nekrasov (cadet) from November 5, 1916 to March 2, 1917, gr. V. A. Bobrinsky (nationalist) from November 5, 1916 to February 25, 1917, the Octobrist I. I. Dmitryukov was the secretary of the IV Duma.

Since 1915, the Progressive Bloc played a leading role in the Duma. The Fourth Duma, both before and during the First World War, was often in opposition to the government.

IV State Duma and the February Revolution

On February 25, 1917, Emperor Nicholas II signed a decree to terminate the Duma until April of the same year; The Duma refused to comply, meeting in private meetings.

Being one of the centers of opposition to Nicholas II, the Duma played a key role in February Revolution: its members formed the Provisional Committee of the State Duma on February 27, which de facto assumed the functions of the supreme power, forming the Provisional Government of Russia.

After the fall of the monarchy, the Duma never met in full, although regular meetings were held by the Provisional Committee of the State Duma.

On October 6, 1917, the Provisional Government dissolved the State Duma in connection with the preparation of elections in constituent Assembly, and on December 18, a decree of the Council of People's Commissars abolished the office of the Duma and its Provisional Committee.

Election legislation

Manifesto of August 6, 1905
Regulations on elections to the State Duma of August 6, 1905
Establishment of the State Duma
Manifesto of October 17, 1905
On changing the regulations on elections to the State Duma of December 11, 1905
Regulations on elections to the State Duma of June 3, 1907

State Duma in the Russian Empire: general characteristics.

First State Duma began work on April 27, 1906. It was formed in accordance with the Manifesto of August 6, 1905 “On the Establishment of the State Duma” and the Regulations on elections to the State Duma.

According to these documents, the State Duma was a representative body elected for five years on the basis of qualifications and class suffrage. Of the political parties, the Cadets received the majority of seats. Peasant deputies, united in the Trudovik faction, were also widely represented.

Conflicts between the Duma and the government were acute. When discussing the agrarian question, the government objected to the expropriation of estates and argued that the projects of the Cadets and Trudoviks would give the peasants a small increase in land plots, and the destruction of landowners' farms would cause large losses to the country. In turn, the Duma refused to cooperate with the government and demanded its resignation.

To overcome the disagreements that arose, it was proposed to form coalition government. However, the tsarist government decided to dissolve the Duma. The first State Duma, having worked for only 72 days.

Second State Duma began work on February 20, 1907. She was elected on the basis of the August Manifesto and Regulations. Left parties were represented by an even larger number of deputies than in the first Duma.

Prime Minister P. A. Stolypin reported on the measures taken in the period between the first and second Dumas, he outlined the main provisions of future reforms: peasant equality, peasant land management, local government and court reform, legalization of trade unions and economic strikes, reduction of working hours , school and financial reforms, etc.

The Duma opposition was critical of the proposed reforms. The government dispersed the Second State Duma, which lasted 102 days.

Third State Duma began work on November 1, 1907. Elections were held on the basis new electoral law- Election Regulations adopted on June 3, 1907

By changing the electoral law, the government sought to find support for the constitutional system in the zemstvo social environment. The majority of seats in the Duma were won by Octobrists- representatives of the Union on October 17. The extreme right and left were represented by a small number of deputies. This composition of the Duma made it possible to carry out a number of important reforms.

The following were adopted: the decree “On additions ... to the law concerning peasant land ownership and land use” dated November 9, 1906, which gave peasants the right to secure their plots of communal land as personal property, the law “On amendments and additions to certain regulations on peasant land ownership” dated June 14, 1910, Regulations on Land Management dated May 29, 1911, which regulated the work of land management commissions, laws on social insurance of workers and other regulations.

Elections in Fourth State Duma passed on November 15, 1912. in the context of a new socio-political crisis.

The outbreak of the First World War marked the political agreement of the Duma with the government. However, the defeats of the Russian army led to a split in this unity. In August 1915, a Progressive Bloc was formed in the Duma, whose program required the creation of a Ministry of Public Trust and a number of reforms. The opposition demanded the resignation of the government. In response to these demands, the cabinet of ministers was changed several times.

On February 27, 1917, by imperial decree, the State Duma was dissolved for a break; it was finally dissolved by the decision of the Provisional Government on October 6, 1917.

The State Duma was established as “a special legislative establishment, which is provided with the preliminary development and discussion of legislative proposals and consideration of the breakdown of state revenues and expenditures”. The development of the election regulations was entrusted to the Minister of Internal Affairs Bulygin, the convening date was set - no later than half of January 1906.

The basis of the legislative competence of the State Duma was clause 3 of the Manifesto of October 17, 1905, which established “as an unshakable rule that no law could take effect without the approval of the State Duma.” This norm was enshrined in Art. 86 of the Basic Laws of the Russian Empire as amended on April 23: “No new law can be enacted without the approval of the State Council and the State Duma and take force without the approval of the Sovereign Emperor.” From an advisory body, as established by the Manifesto * of August 6, the Duma became a legislative body.

The first meeting of the State Duma took place on April 27 of the year at the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg.

The consignment	I Duma	2nd Duma	III Duma	IV Duma
RSDLP	(10)	65	19	14
Social Revolutionaries	-	37	-	-
People's Socialists	-	16	-	-
Trudoviks	107 (97)	104	13	10
Progressive Party	60	-	28	48
Cadets	161	98	54	59
Autonomists	70	76	26	21
Octobrists	13	54	154	98
Nationalists	-	-	97	120
Far right	-	-	50	65
Non-partisan	100	50	-	7

I convocation

Convened in accordance with the electoral law of December 11, according to which 49% of all electors belonged to peasants. Elections to the First State Duma took place from March 26 to April 20, 1906.

Elections of Duma Deputies took place not directly, but through the election of electors separately for four curiae - landowner, city, peasant and workers. For the first two, the elections were two-degree, for the third - three-degree, for the fourth - four-degree. The RSDLP, national social democratic parties, the Socialist Revolutionary Party and the All-Russian Peasant Union announced a boycott of the elections to the Duma of the first convocation.

Of the 448 deputies of the State Duma of the first convocation, there were 153 cadets, autonomists (members of the Polish Kolo, Ukrainian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and other ethnic groups) - 63, Octobrists - 13, Trudoviks - 97, 105 non-party and 7 others.

The first meeting of the State Duma took place on April 27, 1906 at the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg (after a reception with Nicholas II in the Winter Palace). Cadet S.A. was elected chairman. Muromtsev. The chairman's comrades are Prince P.D. Dolgorukov and N.A. Gredeskul (both cadets). Secretary - Prince D.I. Shakhovskoy (cadet).

The first Duma worked for 72 days. Two projects on the agrarian issue were discussed: from the Cadets (42 signatures) and from deputies of the Duma labor group (104 signatures). They proposed the creation of a state land fund to allocate land to the peasantry. The Cadets wanted to include state, appanage, monastery, and part of the landowners' lands in the fund. They advocated the preservation of exemplary landowner farms and the alienation of the land that they lease at the market price. To provide for the peasants, the Trudoviks demanded that plots be allocated to them according to the labor standard at the expense of state, appanage, monastic and privately owned lands that exceed the labor standard, the introduction of egalitarian labor land use, the announcement of a political amnesty, the liquidation of the State Council, and the expansion of the legislative rights of the Duma.

On May 13, a government declaration appeared, which declared the forced alienation of land unacceptable. Refusal to grant political amnesty and expand the prerogatives of the Duma and introduce the principle of ministerial responsibility to it. The Duma responded with a decision of no confidence in the government and replacing it with another. On June 6, Esser’s even more radical “project of 33” appeared. It provided for the immediate and complete destruction of private ownership of land and declaring it, along with all its mineral resources and waters, the common property of the entire population of Russia. On July 8, 1906, the Tsarist government, under the pretext that the Duma was not only not calming the people, but was further inciting unrest, dissolved it.

II convocation

The State Duma of the 2nd convocation worked from February 20 to June 2 of the year (one session).

In terms of its composition, it was generally to the left of the first, since Social Democrats and Socialist Revolutionaries took part in the elections. Convened in accordance with the electoral law of December 11, 1905. Of the 518 deputies there were: Social Democrats - 65, Socialist Revolutionaries - 37, People's Socialists - 16, Trudoviks - 104, Cadets - 98 (almost half as many as in the first Duma), right-wing and Octobrists - 54, autonomists - 76, non-party members - 50, the Cossack group numbered 17, the party of democratic reforms is represented by one deputy. Cadet F.A. Golovin was elected chairman. Comrades of the chairman - N.N. Poznansky (non-party leftist) and M.E. Berezin (trudovik). Secretary - M.V. Chelnokov (cadet). The Cadets continued to advocate the alienation of part of the landowners' land and its transfer to the peasants for ransom. Peasant deputies insisted on nationalization of the land.

III convocation

Simultaneously with the decree on the dissolution of the Duma of the 2nd convocation, on June 3, 1907, a new Regulation on elections to the Duma, that is, a new electoral law, was published. According to this law, a new Duma was convened. Elections took place in the fall. In the 1st session, the State Duma of the 3rd convocation numbered: extreme right deputies - 50, moderate right and nationalists - 97, Octobrists and those associated with them - 154, "progressives" - 28, cadets - 54, Trudoviks - 13, social democrats - 19, Muslim group - 8, Lithuanian-Belarusian group - 7, Polish Kolo - 11. This Duma was significantly more to the right than the previous two.

The chairmen of the Duma of the 3rd convocation were: N.A. Khomyakov (Octobrist) - from November 1, 1907 to March 4, 1910, A.I. Guchkov (Octobrist) from October 29, 1910 to March 14, 1911, M.V. Rodzianko (Octobrist) from March 22, 1911 to June 9, 1912

Comrades of the chairman - Prince. V.M. Volkonsky (moderate right), bar. A.F. Meyendorff (Octobrist) from November 5, 1907 to October 30, 1909, S.I. Shidlovsky (Octobrist) from October 30, 1909 to October 29, 1910, M. Ya. Kapustin (Octobrist) from October 29, 1910 to June 9, 1912. Secretary - Ivan Sozonovich (right).

The Duma's own legislative initiative was limited by the requirement that each proposal come from at least 30 deputies.

IV convocation

Elections to the IV State Duma

Legislative activity

Siberian group of members of the IV State Duma. Sitting (from left): A.S. Sukhanov, V.N. Pepelyaev, V.I. Dzyubinsky, N.K. Volkov. N.V. Nekrasov, S.V. Vostrotin, M.S. Rysev. Standing: V.M.Vershinin, A.I.Rusanov, I.N.Mankov, I.M.Gamov, A.A.Dubov, A.I.Ryslev, S.A.Taskin

In composition it differed little from the third; there was a significant increase in clergy in the ranks of deputies.

Among the 442 deputies of the State Duma of the IV convocation, there were 120 nationalists and moderate rightists, 98 Octobrists, 65 rightists, 59 Cadets, 48 progressives, three national groups (Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian group, Polish Kolo, Muslim group) numbered 21 deputies , Social Democrats - 14 (Bolsheviks - 6, Mensheviks - 7, 1 deputy, who was not a full member of the faction, joined the Mensheviks), Trudoviks - 10, non-party - 7. Octobrist M.V. Rodzianko was elected Chairman of the Duma. The chairman's comrades were: Prince. D.D. Urusov (progressive) from November 20, 1912 to May 31, 1913, book. V.M. Volkonsky (non-party, moderate right) from December 1, 1912 to November 15, 1913, N.N. Lvov (progressive) from June 1 to November 15, 1913, A.I. Konovalov (progressive) from November 15, 1913 to May 13, 1914, S.T. Varun-Sekret (Octobrist) from November 26, 1913 to November 3, 1916, A. D. Protopopov (left Octobrist) from May 20, 1914 to September 16, 1916, N. V. Nekrasov (cadet) with November 5, 1916 to March 2, 1917, gr. V. A. Bobrinsky (nationalist) from November 5, 1916 to February 25, 1917, the secretary of the IV Duma was the Octobrist I.I. Dmitryukov.

Since 1915, the Progressive Bloc played a leading role in the Duma. The Fourth Duma, both before and during the First World War, was often in opposition to the government.

IV State Duma and the February Revolution

Bibliography

State Duma in Russia (1906–1917): Review / RAS, INION; Ed. Tverdokhleb A.A., Shevyrin V.M. – M.: RAS, 1995. – 92 p.
Kiryanov I.K., Lukyanov M.N. Parliament of autocratic Russia: The State Duma and its deputies, 1906 - 1917 Perm: Perm University Publishing House, 1995. - 168 p.
Soloviev K.A. Duma monarchy: Public dialogue against the backdrop of reform // Rodina. 2006. No. 11.

Links

Code of laws of the Russian Empire. Volume one. Part two. Basic state laws. Edition 1906. Chapter Ten About the State Council and the State Duma and their mode of action.

- the highest legislative representative body of Russia in 1906-1917. Practical steps to create in Russia a supreme representative body similar to an elected parliament were taken in the context of the outbreak of the First Russian Revolution (1905-1907).

Initially, it was intended to create a representative body with purely legislative functions (Bulyginskaya Duma). However, in times of crisis state power in the fall of 1905, Emperor Nicholas II was forced to issue the Manifesto on October 30 (October 17, old style) 1905, in which he declared the creation of the State Duma as the lower house of parliament with limited legislative rights.

The procedure for elections to the First Duma was determined in the election law issued in December 1905. According to it, four electoral curiae were established: landowning, urban, peasant and workers. According to the workers' curia, only those proletarians who were employed in enterprises with at least 50 employees were allowed to participate in the elections. The elections themselves were not universal (women, young people under 25 years of age, military personnel, a number of national minorities were excluded), not equal (one elector per landowner curia for 2 thousand voters, in the city - for 4 thousand, in the peasant curia - for 30, in the workers' curia - for 90 thousand), not direct - two-degree, but for workers and peasants - three- and four-degree.

The total number of elected Duma deputies at different times ranged from 480 to 525 people.

All deputies had equal rights. By law they were not responsible to voters. Members of the Duma were elected for five years, but the emperor could terminate the powers of all deputies early. The duration of Duma sessions and the timing of breaks between them was determined by the emperor. The work of the State Duma was led by a chairman who was elected by deputies. Members of the Duma enjoyed (with a number of reservations) immunity from prosecution and received large salaries and travel allowances.

The State Duma of the Russian Empire considered draft new laws and staffing tables of all government institutions, a state list of income and expenses together with financial estimates of departments, as well as projects of above-estimated allocations from the treasury (with the exception of estimates and expenses for the Ministry of the Imperial Household and Appanages, if they did not exceed the estimate of this ministry for 1906), reports State control on the execution of state registration, part of the cases on the alienation of state income or property, as well as cases on the construction railways on the initiative and at the expense of the treasury.

First State Duma (1906). The establishment of the First State Duma was a direct consequence of the Revolution of 1905–1907. Nicholas II, under pressure from the liberal wing of the government, mainly in the person of Prime Minister S.Yu. Witte, decided not to escalate the situation in Russia, making it clear to his subjects in August 1905 of his intention to take into account the public need for a representative body of power. This is directly stated in the manifesto of August 6: “Now the time has come, following their good initiatives, to call on elected people from the entire Russian land to constant and active participation in the drafting of laws, including for this purpose in the composition of the highest state institutions a special legislative advisory institution, to which the development is granted and discussion of government revenues and expenditures.” The Manifesto of October 17, 1905 significantly expanded the powers of the Duma; the third point of the Manifesto transformed the Duma from a legislative advisory body into a legislative body; it became the lower house of the Russian parliament, from where bills were sent to the upper house - the State Council. Simultaneously with the manifesto of October 17, 1905, which contained promises to involve in participation in the legislative State Duma “as far as possible” those sections of the population that were deprived of voting rights, a decree on measures to strengthen unity in the activities of ministries and main departments was approved on October 19, 1905. In accordance with it, the Council of Ministers turned into a permanent highest government institution, designed to ensure “the direction and unification of the actions of the main heads of departments on the subjects of legislation and higher government controlled" It was established that bills could not be submitted to the State Duma without prior discussion in the Council of Ministers, in addition, “no general meaning management measures cannot be adopted by the main heads of departments other than the Council of Ministers.” The ministers of war and navy, the ministers of the court and foreign affairs received relative independence. The “most submissive” reports of the ministers to the tsar were preserved. The Council of Ministers met 2–3 times a week; The chairman of the Council of Ministers was appointed by the king and was responsible only to him. The first chairman of the reformed Council of Ministers was S. Yu. Witte (until April 22, 1906). From April to July 1906, the Council of Ministers was headed by I.L. Goremykin, who enjoyed neither authority nor trust among the ministers. Then he was replaced in this position by the Minister of Internal Affairs P.A. Stolypin (until September 1911).

The I State Duma acted from April 27 to July 9, 1906. Its opening took place in St. Petersburg on April 27, 1906 in the largest Throne Hall of the Winter Palace in the capital. After examining many buildings, it was decided to house the State Duma in the Tauride Palace, built by Catherine the Great for her favorite, His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Potemkin.

The procedure for elections to the First Duma was determined in the election law issued in December 1905. According to it, four electoral curiae were established: landowner, city, peasant and workers. According to the workers' curia, only those workers who were employed in enterprises with at least 50 employees were allowed to vote. As a result, 2 million male workers were immediately deprived of the right to vote. Women, young people under 25, military personnel, and a number of national minorities did not take part in the elections. The elections were multi-stage electors - deputies were elected by electors from voters - two-stage, and for workers and peasants three- and four-stage. In the landowning curia there was one elector per 2 thousand voters, in the urban curia - per 4 thousand, in the peasant curia - per 30, in the workers' curia - per 90 thousand. The total number of elected Duma deputies at different times ranged from 480 to 525 people. On April 23, 1906, Nicholas II approved the Code of Basic State Laws, which the Duma could only change on the initiative of the Tsar himself. According to the Code, all laws adopted by the Duma were subject to approval by the tsar, and all executive power in the country also continued to be subordinate to the tsar. The Tsar appointed ministers and personally led foreign policy countries, the armed forces were subordinate to him, he declared war, made peace, and could introduce a state of war or a state of emergency in any area. Moreover, a special paragraph 87 was introduced into the Code of Basic State Laws, which allowed the tsar, during breaks between sessions of the Duma, to issue new laws only in his own name.

The Duma consisted of 524 deputies.

From the very beginning of its activity, the First Duma demonstrated its desire for independence and independence from the tsarist government. Due to the non-simultaneous nature of the elections, the work of the First State Duma was carried out with an incomplete composition. Having taken a leading position in the Duma, the Cadets on May 5, in a written response to the Tsar’s “throne” speech, unanimously included a demand for the abolition death penalty and amnesty for political prisoners, establishing the responsibility of ministers to the people's representation, the abolition of the State Council, the real implementation of political freedoms, universal equality, the liquidation of state-owned, appanage monastic lands and the forced purchase of privately owned lands to eliminate the land hunger of the Russian peasant. The deputies hoped that the tsar would accept deputy Muromtsev with these demands, but Nicholas II did not honor him with this honor. The response of the Duma members was given in the usual manner for “royal reading” to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers I.L. Goremykin. Eight days later, on May 13, 1906, Chairman of the Council of Ministers I.L. Goremykin refused all the demands of the Duma.

On July 6, 1906, the elderly Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Ivan Goremykin, was replaced by the energetic P. Stolypin (Stolypin retained the post of Minister of Internal Affairs, which he had previously held). On July 9, 1906, deputies came to the Tauride Palace for the next meeting and came across closed doors; Nearby on a pole hung a manifesto signed by the tsar about the termination of the work of the First Duma, since it, designed to “bring calm” to society, only “incites unrest.” The manifesto on the dissolution of the Duma stated that the law establishing the State Duma “has been preserved without changes.” On this basis, preparations began for a new campaign, this time for elections to the Second State Duma.

Thus, the First State Duma existed in Russia for only 72 days, during which time it accepted 391 requests for illegal government actions.

Second State Duma (1907). The Second State Duma of the Russian Empire existed from February 20 to July 2, 1907.

Elections to the Second State Duma were held according to the same rules as to the First Duma (multi-stage elections by curiae). At the same time, the election campaign itself took place against the backdrop of a fading but ongoing revolution: “agrarian riots” in July 1906 covered 32 provinces of Russia, and in August 1906 peasant unrest covered 50% of the counties of European Russia. The tsarist government finally took the path of open terror in the fight against the revolutionary movement, which was gradually declining. The government of P. Stolypin established military courts, severely persecuted revolutionaries, suspended the publication of 260 daily and periodicals, and applied administrative sanctions to opposition parties.

Within 8 months the revolution was suppressed. According to the Law of October 5, 1906, peasants were given equal rights with the rest of the country's population. The Second Land Law of November 9, 1906 allowed any peasant to demand his share of the communal land at any time.

Third State Duma (1907–1912). The Third State Duma of the Russian Empire served a full term of office from November 1, 1907 to June 9, 1912 and turned out to be the most politically durable of the first four state dumas. She was elected in accordance with the Manifesto on the dissolution of the State Duma, on the time of convening a new Duma and on changing the procedure for elections to the State Duma and the Regulations on elections to the State Duma of June 3, 1907, which were issued by Emperor Nicholas II simultaneously with the dissolution of the Second State Duma.

The new electoral law significantly limited the voting rights of peasants and workers. The total number of electors for the peasant curia was reduced by 2 times. The peasant curia, therefore, had only 22% of the total number of electors (versus 41.4% under the electoral law of the Regulations on Elections to the State Duma of 1905). The number of workers' electors accounted for 2.3% of the total number of electors. Significant changes were made to the election procedure for the City Curia, which was divided into 2 categories: the first congress of urban voters (big bourgeoisie) received 15% of all electors and the second congress of urban voters (petty bourgeoisie) received only 11%. The First Curia (congress of farmers) received 49% of the electors (versus 34% in 1905). Workers of the majority of Russian provinces (with the exception of 6) could participate in elections only through the second city curia - as tenants or in accordance with the property qualification. The law of June 3, 1907 gave the Minister of the Interior the right to change the boundaries of electoral districts and at all stages of elections to divide electoral assemblies into independent branches. Representation from the national outskirts has sharply decreased. For example, previously 37 deputies were elected from Poland, but now there are 14, from the Caucasus there used to be 29, but now only 10. The Muslim population of Kazakhstan and Central Asia was generally deprived of representation.

The total number of Duma deputies was reduced from 524 to 442.

Only 3,500,000 people took part in the elections to the Third Duma. 44% of the deputies were noble landowners. The legal parties after 1906 remained: “Union of the Russian People”, “Union of October 17” and the Peaceful Renewal Party. They formed the backbone of the Third Duma. The opposition was weakened and did not prevent P. Stolypin from carrying out reforms. In the Third Duma, elected under the new electoral law, the number of opposition-minded deputies significantly decreased, and on the contrary, the number of deputies supporting the government and the tsarist administration increased.

In the third Duma there were 50 far-right deputies, moderate right and nationalists - 97. Groups appeared: Muslim - 8 deputies, Lithuanian-Belarusian - 7, Polish - 11. The Third Duma, the only one of the four, worked all the time required by the law on elections to the Duma five-year term, five sessions held.

Fourth State Duma (1912–1917). The fourth and last of the State Dumas of the Russian Empire operated from November 15, 1912 to February 25, 1917. It was elected according to the same electoral law as the Third State Duma.

Elections to the IV State Duma took place in the autumn (September-October) 1912. They showed that the progressive movement of Russian society was moving towards the establishment of parliamentarism in the country. The election campaign, in which the leaders of bourgeois parties actively participated, took place in an atmosphere of discussion: to be or not to have a constitution in Russia. Even some parliamentary candidates from right-wing political parties were supporters of the constitutional order. During the elections to the Fourth State Duma, the Cadets carried out several “left” demarches, putting forward democratic bills on freedom of unions and the introduction of universal suffrage. Declarations by bourgeois leaders demonstrated opposition to the government.

The government mobilized forces to prevent the aggravation of the internal political situation in connection with the elections, to conduct them as quietly as possible and to maintain or even strengthen its positions in the Duma, and even more so to prevent its shift “to the left.”

In an effort to have its own proteges in the State Duma, the government (in September 1911 it was headed by V.N. Kokovtsev after the tragic death of P.A. Stolypin) influenced elections in certain regions with police repressions, possible frauds such as limiting the number of voters as a result of illegal “ explanations." It turned to the help of the clergy, giving them the opportunity to widely participate in district congresses as representatives of small landowners. All these tricks led to the fact that among the deputies of the IV State Duma there were more than 75% of landowners and representatives of the clergy. In addition to land, more than 33% of deputies had real estate (plants, factories, mines, trading enterprises, houses, etc.). About 15% of the total number of deputies belonged to the intelligentsia. They played an active role in various political parties, many of them constantly participating in the discussions of the general meetings of the Duma.

The main factions of the IV State Duma were: rightists and nationalists (157 seats), Octobrists (98), progressives (48), Cadets (59), who still made up two Duma majorities (depending on who they were blocking with at that moment Octobrists: Octobrist-cadet or Octobrist-right). In addition to them, Trudoviks (10) and Social Democrats (14) were represented in the Duma. The Progressive Party took shape in November 1912 and adopted a program that provided for a constitutional-monarchical system with the responsibility of ministers to popular representation, expansion of the rights of the State Duma, etc. The emergence of this party (between the Octobrists and the Cadets) was an attempt to consolidate the liberal movement. The Bolsheviks led by L.B. Rosenfeld took part in the work of the Duma. and the Mensheviks led by N.S. Chkheidze. They introduced 3 bills (on an 8-hour working day, on social insurance, on national equality), which were rejected by the majority.

By nationality, almost 83% of the deputies in the State Duma of the 4th convocation were Russians. Among the deputies there were also representatives of other peoples of Russia. There were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, Lithuanians, Moldovans, Georgians, Armenians, Jews, Latvians, Estonians, Zyrians, Lezgins, Greeks, Karaites and even Swedes, Dutch, but their share in the total corps of deputies was insignificant. The majority of deputies (almost 69%) were people aged 36 to 55 years. Higher education had approximately half of the deputies, the average - a little more than a quarter of the total composition of the Duma members

On September 3, 1915, after the Duma accepted the war loans allocated by the government, it was dissolved for vacation. The Duma met again only in February 1916. On December 16, 1916 it was dissolved again. Resumed activity on February 14, 1917 on the eve of the February abdication of Nicholas II. On February 25, 1917, it was dissolved again and no longer officially met, but formally and actually existed. The Fourth Duma played a leading role in the establishment of the Provisional Government, under which it actually worked in the form of “private meetings”. On October 6, 1917, the Provisional Government decided to dissolve the Duma in connection with preparations for the elections to the Constituent Assembly.

On December 18, 1917, one of the decrees of Lenin’s Council of People’s Commissars also abolished the office of the State Duma itself.