Composition and Powers of Russia’s Federation Assembly

Russia’s parliament, known as the Federal Assembly, sits at the heart of the country’s governance structure. It is the legislative body that turns political will into federal law, balances the interests of vast and diverse regions, and keeps a check on executive power. Understanding how this institution works offers a clear window into how the world’s largest country organises its political life.

What is the Federal Assembly? 🔗

The Federal Assembly is the bicameral national legislature of Russia. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993, replacing the former Supreme Soviet. The legislature has two chambers: the Federation Council as the upper house and the State Duma as the lower house. Both chambers operate from Moscow, though they sit in separate buildings and function largely as independent bodies that come together only for specific occasions, such as hearing the President’s annual address or speeches by visiting heads of state.

The bicameral design reflects a deliberate choice. Russia is a federation that stretches across eleven time zones, with republics, oblasts, krais, autonomous okrugs, and federal cities, each carrying distinct identities and interests. A single chamber would struggle to speak for such diversity. The upper house gives voice to territorial interests, while the lower house represents the political preferences of the population at large.

Origins after 1993 🔗

The Assembly’s creation was dramatic. Following a confrontation between President Boris Yeltsin and the earlier Russian legislature, Yeltsin dissolved the Congress of People’s Deputies and Supreme Soviet in September 1993 and called elections for a new bicameral parliament. The referendum on the new constitution and the parliamentary elections both took place on 12 December 1993, and the newly elected deputies first convened in January 1994.

The Federation Council: the upper house 🔗

The Federation Council serves as the chamber of regions. According to constitutional arrangements, it comprises 170 members, with two representatives drawn from each of Russia’s 83 federal entities. Of the two representatives from each region, one comes from the regional legislative body and the other from the regional executive authority. This structure mirrors the federal principle: every region, irrespective of population size or economic weight, receives equal representation.

The Chairman of the Federation Council holds a position of great constitutional weight. The Chairman is considered the third most important position after the President and the Prime Minister, and becomes Acting President if both the President and Prime Minister are incapacitated.

Powers of the Federation Council 🔗

The upper house carries a specific set of powers laid down by the Constitution. These powers focus on territorial integrity, federal relations, and high-level appointments. The Federation Council is empowered to:

Approve border changes between federal subjects of the Russian Federation. Any adjustment to internal boundaries requires the upper house’s consent, reinforcing its role as guardian of regional interests.

Approve presidential decrees on martial law and the introduction of a state of emergency. The President cannot act unilaterally in these matters; the upper house must ratify such declarations.

Decide on the use of armed forces abroad. According to the Federation Council’s official description of its jurisdiction, the chamber’s powers include authorising the deployment of Russian Armed Forces outside the country’s territory.

Appoint judges of the higher courts, including the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, upon the President’s nomination. It also appoints and dismisses the Prosecutor General and the Deputy Prosecutor General.

Call presidential elections and handle the final stage of presidential impeachment proceedings.

Beyond these, the Council also considers legislation concerning the federal budget, taxes, customs, financial and credit regulation, ratification of international treaties, war, and peace. The 1993 Constitution requires the Council to consider bills in these sensitive policy areas before they can proceed to the President.

The State Duma: the lower house 🔗

The State Duma is the primary legislative workshop of the Federal Assembly. It has 450 deputies elected directly by citizens. Since constitutional amendments adopted in 2008, the Duma’s term has been set at five years, extended from the earlier four-year period.

Elections to the Duma use a mixed-member system. Half of the seats, 225 in total, are filled through party-list proportional representation with a 5% electoral threshold, while the other 225 are chosen by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies. This blended approach aims to combine national party competition with local constituency representation. A citizen must be at least 21 years old to stand as a Duma deputy.

Powers of the State Duma 🔗

The Duma is where most legislative action happens. Its key constitutional responsibilities include:

Legislative initiation and first consideration of bills. Every bill, even those proposed by the Federation Council or the government, must first be considered by the State Duma before moving on.

Approving the Prime Minister. The President nominates the head of government, but the Duma must give its consent. If the Duma rejects the nominee three times, the President can dissolve the chamber and call fresh elections, a powerful constitutional lever.

Hearing annual government reports. The Duma hears annual reports from the Government of the Russian Federation on the results of its work, including on issues raised by the Duma itself, strengthening executive accountability.

Deciding confidence in the government. The Duma can pass a motion of no confidence. However, the President retains significant discretion in responding, and if a second no-confidence vote passes within three months, the President can choose either to dismiss the government or to dissolve the Duma.

Appointing key officials. The Duma appoints and dismisses the Chairman of the Central Bank, the Chairman and half the auditors of the Accounts Chamber, and the Commissioner for Human Rights. It also has the power to declare amnesties.

How a bill becomes law 🔗

The legislative process in the Federal Assembly follows a clear sequence. A bill is first introduced in the State Duma, which considers it through multiple readings. Once the Duma adopts a bill by majority vote, it moves to the Federation Council. The Federation Council has fourteen days to place the bill on its calendar, and it cannot amend the legislation but can only approve or reject it.

If the upper house rejects a bill, the two chambers typically form a conciliation commission to hammer out a compromise. Should the commission fail or the Duma insist on its original version, the Duma can override the Federation Council’s veto by a two-thirds majority of its total membership.

The presidential veto 🔗

Once both chambers approve a bill, it goes to the President for signature. The President can sign the law or reject it, in which case it returns to parliament for reconsideration. The Constitution is precise about the override threshold. If the law is again approved in its earlier wording by not less than two-thirds of the total number of members of both the Council of Federation and deputies of the State Duma, the President must sign it within seven days and promulgate it.

In practice, overriding a presidential veto is extraordinarily difficult because assembling a two-thirds majority in both chambers requires unusual political cohesion. This arrangement gives the Russian President, within a semi-presidential framework, a strong hand in shaping legislation.

Special category: federal constitutional laws 🔗

Certain fundamental matters require a higher bar. Federal constitutional laws, which deal with issues specifically reserved by the Constitution, must be approved by at least three-quarters of the senators and at least two-thirds of the deputies. This stricter threshold ensures that basic constitutional arrangements cannot be altered by ordinary political majorities.

Checks and balances within the system 🔗

Though the Russian system is often described as executive-dominant, the Federal Assembly retains meaningful checks. Impeachment of the President is one such instrument, though the process is deliberately onerous. Charges must be initiated by at least one-third of Duma deputies, approved by two-thirds of the Duma, and finalised by two-thirds of the Federation Council within three months. No Russian President has ever been impeached, though the process was attempted against Yeltsin in 1999.

The Assembly also shapes the state through confirmation of senior judicial appointments, budget approvals, and ratification of international treaties. These powers give parliamentarians real leverage in negotiations with the executive, even when open confrontation is rare.

Comparisons with other legislatures 🔗

The Federal Assembly shares features with other bicameral systems. Its regional representation in the upper house resembles Germany’s Bundesrat, while the Duma’s proportional-plus-constituency electoral system echoes mixed-member arrangements found in Germany and New Zealand. Compared with the Indian Parliament, there are structural parallels between the Federation Council and the Rajya Sabha in representing federal units, and between the Duma and the Lok Sabha as the primary legislative chamber. However, the Russian President wields more direct legislative influence than the Indian President, reflecting the semi-presidential character of the Russian constitution.

Evolution and contemporary relevance 🔗

The Federal Assembly has changed significantly since 1993. Methods for composing the Federation Council have shifted several times, moving from direct elections to delegates appointed by regional bodies. Electoral rules for the Duma have also been revised, oscillating between purely proportional and mixed systems. A set of constitutional amendments in 2020 reshaped relationships among the branches, including new provisions related to the Federation Council and expanded presidential powers over judicial appointments and the executive branch.

These adjustments reflect how the institution continues to evolve in response to political and administrative pressures. Understanding the Federal Assembly is therefore essential for anyone studying comparative legislatures, federalism, or the governance of the BRICS bloc, where Russia’s model offers a distinctive approach to balancing regional diversity with centralised political authority.

What do you think? How effectively does Russia’s Federal Assembly balance the interests of its diverse regions against the demands of national policymaking? And in a semi-presidential system where the executive holds substantial legislative tools, does the two-thirds override threshold genuinely empower parliament, or does it mostly entrench presidential dominance?

References

1. https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Russia_2014
2. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/federal-assembly
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assembly_(Russia)
4. http://www.council.gov.ru/en/structure/council/
5. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057/9780230505735_5
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Duma
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Russian_legislative_election
8. http://duma.gov.ru/en/news/28785/