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
4th State Duma four were able to overcome the 5% election threshold to gain representation based upon the proportional representation system and another party was held in the State Duma by winning a few electoral districts. The first meeting of the State Duma traditionally held oldest deputy – 80 year-old of Valentin Varennikov. On December 29, 2003, the parliament elected Boris Gryzlov as the Chairman of the State Duma. First Deputy Chairman elected: Lyubov Sliska and Alexander Zhukov. Deputy Chairman elected: Georgy Boos (before September 21, 2005), Yuri Volkov (since September 21, 2005), Artur Chilingarov, Vyacheslav Volodin, Vladimir Pekhtin, Oleg Morozov, Valentin Kuptsov,