Duma (epic) Duma (epic) A Duma (, plural "dumy") is a sung epic poem which originated in Ukraine during the Hetmanate Era in the sixteenth century (possibly based on earlier Kievan epic forms). Historically, dumy were performed by itinerant Cossack bards called kobzari, who accompanied themselves on a kobza or a torban, but after the abolition of Hetmanate by the Empress Catherine of Russia the epic singing became the domain of blind itinerant musicians who retained the kobzar appellation and accompanied their singing by playing a bandura (rarely a kobza) or a relya/lira (a Ukrainian variety of hurdy-gurdy). Dumas are sung in
Sakhalin Oblast Duma 1994, were declared invalid, the regional Duma of the first convocation consisted of only 12 deputies. The Sakhalin Oblast Duma is unicameral just like most other legislative assembly body found in Russian federal subjects. It currently comprises of 28 deputies, with 14 of them running in single mandate constituencies and the other 14 in the single electoral district. Deputies are elected by public vote once every 5 years, whereby winners are determined by the two voting systems of first-past-the-post voting and party-list proportional representation, which is combined together in what is known as the parallel voting system. The Duma also