Russia, as a country with a traditional patriarchal way of society, for a long time did without a legislative body - the Parliament. The first State Duma was convened only in 1906, by decree of Nicholas II. Such a decision was necessary, but rather belated, especially if we take into account the years of the appearance of its analogues in other states. In England, for example, the Parliament appeared in the late Middle Ages, in France - at the same time. The United States, which was founded in 1776, created a similar government almost immediately.
And what about Russia? Our country has always adhered to the position of a strong centralized authority of the tsar-priest, who himself had to think over all the laws proposed by the ministers. Thanks to this, the First State Duma did not appear either after the Time of Troubles, or under Peter I, or even under Catherine II, who planned to convene a body similar in function to the Parliament. were only arrangedCollege.
Throughout the 19th century, supporters of a constitutional monarchy (and in Russia there were a dime a dozen) spoke in favor of a parliamentary system. According to it, the emperor or ministers were to develop bills, the Duma would discuss them, make amendments and send the documents adopted by it for signature to the king.
However, due to the policies of some sovereigns, in particular Nicholas I, the 1st State Duma never appeared in Russia in the 19th century. From the point of view of the ruling elite, this was a good sign, because one could absolutely not worry about self-will in adopting laws - the tsar held all the threads in his hands.
And only the growth of protest moods in society forced Emperor Nicholas II to sign a manifesto on the establishment of the Duma.
The First State Duma opened in April 1906 and became an excellent portrait of the political situation in Russia of that historical period. It included deputies from peasants, landowners, merchants, and workers. The national composition of the Duma was also heterogeneous. There were Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians, Georgians, Poles, Jews and representatives of other ethnic groups in it. In general, it was the First State Duma of 1906 that became a real standard of political correctness, which could be envied even today in the USA.
Sad, however, is the fact that the First Duma turned out to be a completely incompetent political monster. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the Duma of the first convocation became not a legislative body, but a kind of political victimera. The second reason is the boycott of the Duma by the left forces.
Because of these two factors, the First State Duma already in July of the same year "slid" to dissolution. Many were dissatisfied with this, rumors from the realm of fantasy began to spread in society about the final abolition of the Duma, which, by the way, were not confirmed. Soon the Second Duma was convened, which turned out to be somewhat more productive than the First, but more on that in another article.
The Duma of the first convocation has become for Russian history a kind of starting point for democratic transformations. Although it was organized late, the First Duma played its role in the development of parliamentarism.
