Government, Legislature

The Federal Assembly is Russia’s bicameral national legislature. It is composed of an upper house, called the Council of the Federation, and a lower house, the State Duma. The Council of the Federation has 178 members—two representatives from each of the 89 administrative units that make up the Russian Federation. The local executive and legislative heads of each unit serve as the representatives for their unit.

The State Duma has 450 members. Voters elect half of the Duma members by casting a vote for a specific party listed on the ballot; these 225 seats are divided among the qualifying parties by proportional representation. The other 225 Duma members are elected individually from electoral districts throughout the country. Each of Russia’s 89 constituent units has at least one electoral district; some densely populated units have more than one. In the December 1995 legislative elections, each party on the ballot needed at least 5 percent of the vote in order to gain representation in the State Duma. Prior to the 1995 elections, legislators served two-year terms; in 1995 they began serving four-year terms, as mandated by the constitution.