The Russian Sixth State Duma, elected in 2011, held today its last plenary session.
Summing up the results, the chairman Sergey Naryshkin said that "the main result is that the State Duma has lived and worked with the country in the era of great economic and political changes."
Among the key laws adopted, the deputies themselves name that on the liberalization of the party and electoral legislation, which simplified the requirements for registration of political parties and their participation in parliamentary elections.
The parliamentary diplomacy, which has become one of the most important tools for promoting the national interests of Russia, has played a special role throughout the work of the Sixth State Duma. The head of the Chamber, Sergey Naryshkin, has paid close attention to this issue. He has initiated a number of new formats promoting a dialogue between legislators, such as the International Parliamentary Forum and the BRICS Parliamentary Forum, TASS reminds.
However, a number of contacts were seriously undermined because of the EU and the US positions. Several attempts were made to discriminate against Russian representatives at the international events, particularly at the PACE. This resulted in Russia's withdrawal from the Assembly in Strasbourg and a temporary suspension of cooperation.
Speaking before the legislators on June 22, the Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the results of the work of the State Duma. "Your work and the results achieved can certainly be called remarkable. It is of special importance that the laws you have adopted enabled us to comply with the social obligations to our citizens, develop crucial branches of the economy and perfect the political system of the state," Putin noted.
A member of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, Julia Veprintseva, speaking with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, first of all noticed that the Sixth State Duma had to work under fairly stressful conditions.
The senator named a significant package of adopted bills aimed at social protection of the population among the key achievements of the State Duma. "Social problems have always come first for our country, as the president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said once. The laws should be primarily aimed at improving the living standards of our people," Julia Veprintseva stressed.
The director of the Center for Political Information, Alexei Mukhin, in turn, pointed out that the Sixth State Duma managed to balance its relations with other branches of government.
"Of course, they could avoid neither populism nor extravagant stunts by some deputies, who in this manner tried to remind the voters about their existence. On the whole, Sergey Naryshkin set up the work of the State Duma apparatus quite effectively. This led to the formation of a relatively stable normative basis, which allows Russia to cope with the global crisis," Alexei Mukhin stressed.
He also noted the difficult political conditions in which the State Duma has worked. "It had to respond to external challenges - it was easier in this regard for the previous Duma," the expert said, adding that after the elections, we can expect significant changes in the State Duma.
"From now on the elections will be also held in single mandate districts, and I think that there will be more room for a consensus in the next Duma. The United Russia party will probably not receive a constitutional majority and will be forced to negotiate with the systemic opposition. This will make the legislative process healthier," Alexei Mukhin concluded.
