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
1997 Moscow City Duma election 1997 Moscow City Duma election The Moscow legislative election of 1997 were held December 14 of that year to the Moscow City Duma, the city's unicameral parliament (city council). Participated in the election were 28 associations and four electoral blocs. In 1995, the deputies refused to schedule new elections and instead extended their term for a further two years. This provoked a two-year court case that ended this summer with a ruling that the Duma had acted illegally in extending its powers. The "Nikolai Gonchar" bloc was the only bloc that has adopted a platform critical of the way Mayor