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
Provisional Committee of the State Duma Imperial Government. According to Milyukov Chkheidze never participated in the work of the Committee. On March 15 (March 2 O.S.) the Committee and the Petrograd Soviet agreed to create the Provisional Government. Many members of the Committee went on to serve in the Provisional Government, while the Committee continued to play an insignificant role until the Fourth Duma was dissolved on September 19 (September 6 O.S.). 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