State Duma second half of the 1990s, the Duma became an important forum for lobbying by regional leaders and businessmen looking for tax breaks and legislative favors. The work of the leading committees, such as those for defense, foreign affairs, or budget, attracted a good deal of media attention and lobbying activity. In the early 2000s, following the 1999 parliamentary elections, the pro-presidential Unity party and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation were the leading forces in the State Duma. A 2016 exposé by Dissernet showed that 1 in 9 members of the State Duma had obtained academic degrees with theses
Duma Kumalo Duma Kumalo Duma Joshua Kumalo (died 3 February 2006) was a South African human rights activist and one of the Sharpeville Six. He was condemned to death under the 1984 law of "common purpose", which allowed a person to be convicted for having been in the vicinity of an offence, without personally committing it. In 1988, he received a stay of execution the day before sentence was to be carried out. Following his release from jail in 1991, Kumalo became involved in many human rights activities, including discussions about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and work with Amnesty International. He