Today is the Day of Russian Parliamentarism

Every year, Russia celebrates the Day of Russian Parliamentarism on April 27. The holiday was established on June 27, 2012, when President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin amended the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 On Days of Military Glory and Remembrance Days in Russia.
In 2020, the Day of Russian Parliamentarism is celebrated in Russia on April 27 at the official level for the eighth time.
The commemorative date is supposed to “promote the activities of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, as well as legislative bodies of consituent entitites of the Russian Federation.”
The first Russian parliament, State Duma of the Russian Empire, was inaugurated on April 27 (May 10 New Style), 1906.
From 1906 to 1917, the State Duma had four convocations: in 1906, 1907 (twice) and 1912. Twice, in 1906 and 1907, it was dissolved early by the Emperor’s decision.
The total number of deputies in different years varied from 442 to 524. The Duma was in charge of adopting laws and approving the state budget.
The last Duma session in the history of Imperial Russia was held on the eve of the Revolution on February 25, 1917. The deputies’ powers were terminated by the Provisional Government on October 6, 1917.
The new Russian parliament was formed after the adoption of the Constitution on December 12, 1993.
The Federal Assembly became the representative and legislative body of the Russian Federation; it consists of two chambers: the Federation Council and the State Duma.
Since 2011, Valentina Matviyenko has been the Chairwoman of the Federation Council; since October 5, 2016, Vyacheslav Volodin has been the Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
In his greetings on the Day of Russian Parliamentarism, Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, said, “Parliamentarianism is an important institution in the system of public authority representing the interests of the people of Russia; its effectiveness determines the legislative support for achieving national development goals and improving the quality of life of our citizens.
Today, lawmakers need to rely on the support of our citizens to make prompt and effective decisions aimed at helping people, families with children and implementing measures to support the economy.
I wish you every success and all the best.”

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Moreover, in accordance with the decision of the UN General Assembly of May 22, 2018, the International Day of Parliamentarism is celebrated around the world on June 30.
As Chairman of the Council of the Federation Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev wrote in his blog, International Day of Parliamentarism was established on the initiative of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, which in March 2017 proposed such a holiday to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and it was unanimously supported in the 137th IPU Assembly’s Resolution on Sharing our Diversity: The 20th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Democracy in October 2017 in St Petersburg.