Chairman of the State Duma Chairman of the State Duma The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (), also called "Speaker" (), is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Russian parliament. His responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day business of the State Duma presiding and maintaining order at the regular sessions of the parliament. The Speaker also chairs the Council of the Duma which includes representatives from all the parliamentary parties and determines the legislative agenda. The Speaker of the Duma may intervene and express his views but is supposed to be unbiased in his activities
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