State Duma of the Russian Empire was a legislative assembly in the late Russian Empire. It was convened 4 times. A Legislative Assembly in some parts of the Commonwealth refers to a legislature, or a chamber of the legislature. ... Anthem: God Save the Tsar! Russian Empire in 1914 Capital Saint Petersburg Language(s) Russian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1721-1725 Peter the Great  - 1894-1917 Nicholas II History  - Established 22 October, 1721  - February Revolution 2 March, 1917 Area  - 1897 22,400,000 km2 8,648,688 sq mi Population  - 1897...

Under the pressure of the Russian Revolution of 1905, on August 6, 1905,Sergei Witte, appointed by Nicholas II to manage peace negotiations with Japan, issued a manifesto about the convocation of the Duma, initially thought to be an advisory organ. In the subsequent October Manifesto, the Tsar pledged to introduce basic civil liberties, provide for broad participation in the State Duma, and endow the Duma with legislative and oversight powers. Though Russia was an autocracy, rather than a democracy, the State Duma is sometimes formally compared to the lower house of a parliament (the State Council of Imperial Russia being compared to the upper house). The Russian Revolution of 1905 was an empire-wide struggle of both anti-government and undirected violence. ... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte (Сергей Юльевич Витте) (June 29, 1849 – March 13, 1915), also known as Sergius Witte, was a highly influential policy-maker who presided over extensive industrialization within the Russian Empire. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: October Manifesto (in English) Ilya Repin 17 October 1905 The October Manifesto (Russian: ) was issued on October 17, 1905; October 30 in the Gregorian calendar) by Emperor Nicholas II of Russia under the influence of Count Sergei Witte as a response to... Civil liberties is the name given to freedoms that protect the individual from government. ... An Autocracy is a form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual. ... The State Council (Государственный Совет) was the supreme state advisory body to Tsar in Imperial Russia. ...

However, Nicholas II was determined to retain his autocratic power. Just before the creation of the Duma in May 1906, the Tsar issued the Fundamental Laws that contradicted the October Manifesto in several important ways. It stated in part that Tsar's ministers could not be appointed by, and were not responsible to, the Duma, thus denying responsible government at the executive level. Furthermore, the Tsar had the power to dismiss the Duma and announce new elections whenever he wished. On the day that he dissolved the Duma, Nicholas II wrote in his diary only one sentence about the day's highlight news: Signed a decree dissolving the Duma. 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The first Russian constitution, known as the Fundamental Laws was enacted on April 23, 1906, on the eve of the opening of the first State Duma. ... A minister or a secretary is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. ... Responsible government is a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. ...

Election for the First Duma, which ran between April and June 1906, returned a significant bloc of moderate socialists and both liberal parties who demanded further reforms. For this reason, it is often called "the Duma of public anger". Sergei Muromtsev, Professor of Law at Moscow University, was elected President. Due to growing tensions between the Duma and Nicholas II's ministers (prominently Goremykin), the assembly was dissolved within ten weeks. In frustration members of the liberal 'Kadets' party then underwent the 'Vyborg Appeal', which ended in their arrest and exclusion from future Duma election. This paved the way for an alternative makeup for the second Duma. Download high resolution version (1140x373, 111 KB)Hall of the Sessions of the First State Duma in the Tauride Palace, St Petersburg. ... Sergei Andreievich Muromtsev (Russian: ) (October 5, 1850 — October 4, 1910) was a Russian lawyer and politician, and chairman of the First Imperial Duma in 1906. ... Ivan Goremykin Ivan Logginovich Goremykin (Russian: Ива́н Логгинович Горемы́кин) (November 8, 1839 - December 24, 1917) was a Russian politician. ...

Saint Petersburg City Duma.

The Second Duma (February 1907 to June 1907) was equally short-lived. The Social Democrats and Social Revolutionaries gained 188 deputies, along with members of the right-wing, which meant major conflict within the Duma and with the Tsar. Nicholas dissolved it after he heard members of the Duma criticizing harshly government administration of the army. Image File history File links City_duma. ... Image File history File links City_duma. ... Nevsky Prospekt near the City Duma in 1811. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

The Tsar was unwilling to be rid of the system of the State Duma, despite their problems, as he wished to portray the image of a 'democratic Russia' to foreign powers. Instead, 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. Petr Stolypin Petr Arkadyevich Stolypin (Russian: Пётр Арка́дьевич Столы́пин) (April 14 (April 2 Old Style) 1862 - September 18 (September 5 Old Style) 1911) served as Nicholas IIs Chairman... // Nobility is a traditional hereditary status (see hereditary titles) that exists today in many countries (mainly present or former monarchies). ... Landowner or Landholder is a holder of the estate in land with considerable rights of ownership or, simply put, an owner of land. ...

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. Although the Bolsheviks later dismissed the later Dumas for being "rubber stamps of government policy", the Third Duma, through links with Stolypin and tentative movements, managed to instigate a succession of reforms (including a national insurance scheme for industrial workers). The assassination of Stolypin and increasingly reactionary policies of the Tsar and his State Council weakened the significance of the Third Duma. 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Octobrist Party (Russian Октябристы) was a non-revolutionary conservative-liberal Russian political party also called Union Of October 17 (Союз 17 Октября) whose program of moderate constitutionalism called for the fulfillment... The State Council (Государственный Совет) was the supreme state advisory body to Tsar in Imperial Russia. ...

The Fourth Duma of 1912–1914 and 1915-1917 was also of limited political influence. The inefficiency of Stolypin's various replacements and its conflcit with Rasputin made operations difficult. In August 1914 the Duma volunteered its own dissolution for the duration of the war. However, its former members became increasing displeased with Tsarist control of military and other affairs and so demanded its own reinstatement, which Nicholas conceeded to in August 1915. Its second run is considered even more ineffectual than its first though, and when the Tsar refused its call for the replacement of his cabinet with a 'Ministry of National Confidence' roughly half of the deputies formed a 'Progressive Bloc' which in 1917 became a focal point of poltiical resistance. The only role of real importance the Fourth Duma played was after its official dissoltuion during the 1917 February Revolution, where 12 members remained and formed the 'Provisional Committee', which later ruled Russia by default after tha abdication of the Romanovs , renaming itself the 'Provisional Government'.

Seats held in Imperial Dumas

The Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party, or RSDLP (Росси́йская Социа́л-Демократи́ческая Рабо́чая Па́ртия = РСДРП), also known as the Russian Social-Democratic Workers Party and the Russian Social-Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party. ... Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. ... The Trudoviks or Trudoviki, also referred to as Toilers were a moderate Labour party in early 20th Century Russia. ... The Constitutional Democratic Party (Constitutional Democrats, formally Party of Popular Freedom, informally Cadets) was a liberal political party in Tsarist Russia. ... The Octobrist Party (Russian Октябристы) was a non-revolutionary conservative-liberal Russian political party also called Union Of October 17 (Союз 17 Октября) whose program of moderate constitutionalism called for the fulfillment...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External link

• History of the State Duma (Russian)