Duma Duma A duma (дума) was a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term comes from the Russian verb думать ("dumat’") meaning "to think" or "to consider". The first formally constituted duma was the State Duma introduced into the Russian Empire by Tsar Nicholas II in 1905. The Tsar dismissed the first duma within 75 days and re-elected second duma within three months. It was dissolved in 1917 during the Russian Revolution. Since 1993, the State Duma is the lower legislative house of the Russian Federation. Historians use the term "Boyar Duma" to denote the council of boyars and
Provisional Committee of the State Duma Provisional Committee of the State Duma Provisional Committee of the State Duma () was a special government body established on March 12, 1917 (27 February O.S.) by the Fourth State Duma deputies at the outbreak of the Russian February Revolution. The Committee declared itself the governing body of Russian Empire, but "de facto" competed for power with the Petrograd Soviet, which was created on the same day. The Government of Golitzine as the Council of Ministers of Russian Empire retreated to the Admiralty building. The Committee of the State Duma appointed 24 commissars to head various state ministries replacing the