The Veche,
an assembly of all free individuals, was the first form
of direct popular participation in state affairs. Chronicles mention
Veche assemblies in every ancient Russian princedom. Veche participants
could discuss any issue affecting the state, but most frequently took
decisions on inviting princes to rule and later expelling them,
on military campaigns and the signing of peace treaties.
The Federation
Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
was established under the Constitution of the Russian
Federation, ratified 12 December 1993 in a nationwide referendum.
The Federation Council is the upper house of parliament representing
the interests of regions at the federal level
and reflecting the federative nature of the Russian state.
The Federal
Assembly’s bicameral structure is deeply rooted in Russian history
and worldwide parliamentary traditions. Today, almost 80 federative
and unitary countries have bicameral parliaments.
Over the ages, the upper chambers
of many national parliaments had evolved from assemblies
of councilors, subordinated to national rulers, and had class
or estate based representation. Russian princedoms had their own Dumas,
subordinated to local princes and consisting
of the princes’ close supporters and comrades-in-arms. These
Dumas played the part of permanent councils. After
the establishment of the Tsardom of Muscovy, the Boyar
Duma succeeded the Grand Prince’s Duma. It existed until the late 17th century and was later
reorganised as the Senate. Under Emperor Peter the Great,
the Senate was expected to serve as the institution
of supreme state authority in his absence.
Meetings of Boyars, priests, representatives
of the government service class (primarily from among
the nobility) and the merchant class became the first
representative institutions. Russian tsars convened these meetings from
the mid-16th century
until the 1670s and were later referred
to as the Councils of the Estates. The Councils
elected tsars, declared war, signed peace treaties, accepted new territories
into the Russian state and reviewed taxation issues.
The functions of the Councils of the Estates, their
prerogatives and terms of reference virtually coincided with
the list of problems and issues reviewed by parliaments
of the estates in Western and Central European countries.
However, as absolutism grew stronger in Russia, the Councils
of the Estates lost relevance by the late 17th century.
The first attempt to establish
a bicameral parliament, similar to West European parliaments, was
made in the early 19th century.
Acting on orders from Russian Emperor Alexander I, prominent statesman
Mikhail Speransky drafted the concept of a bicameral legislature
that was to have consisted of the State Duma
and the State Council headed by the Emperor. Established
in 1810, the State Council became the supreme legislature
of the Russian Empire. Its members debated all bills and other
legislative acts pending approval by the Emperor. But the State
Duma was never established.
The idea
of a bicameral national legislature was almost realised
in the last years of life of the reformer Tsar
Alexander II. The assassination of Alexander II
and the subsequent counter-reforms of Alexander III delayed
the country’s movement toward this goal.
In the early
1900s, all strata of Russian society started demanding the creation
of a national representative and legislative institution.
In the autumn of 1905 and the winter of 1906,
Emperor Nicholas II met society halfway and issued edicts and decrees
establishing the State Duma and the upgraded State Council,
which had existed for almost 100 years by that time. In his 20 February
1906 edict, Nicholas II stated expressly that, after the convocation
of the State Council and the State Duma, no law could enter
into force without their prior approval.
Representation
in the State Council, the upper house of the first
Russian parliament, was determined by a mixed formula. The Tsar
appointed 50 percent of its members, and the rest were either
elected under the territorial principle (one State Council member from
each Gubernia/Regional Council of Estates) or under
the estate-corporate principle (six priests from the Russian Orthodox
Church, 18 members from Gubernia/Regional nobility societies, six members from
the Russian Academy of Sciences and from universities, six
members from industrial corporations and six more members from commercial
corporations).
The first
Russian parliament lasted for just over ten years. A new system
of representative institutions called Soviets (Councils) evolved during
the February and October revolutions of 1917.
Starting
in 1924, the Congress of the Soviets de jure exercised
legislative and representative functions in the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Congress established two houses,
the Soviet (Council) of the Union and the Soviet
(Council) of Nationalities, for the purposes of its regular
work. The former’s members represented Union republics in direct
proportion to their populations. The latter consisted of five
members from each autonomous region and one member from each republic.
The Constitution
of 1936 retained the bicameral parliament and replaced two-stage
elections of house members with direct elections. It also stipulated
a mechanism of conciliation proceedings in the event
of disagreements between the houses and even
the possibility of dissolving both houses if they failed to reach
consensus. The Supreme Soviet (Parliament) of the USSR also
consisted of two houses having equal rights: the Soviet (Council)
of the Union and the Soviet (Council)
of Nationalities. This system existed until the breakup
of the USSR.
The 1993
Constitution of the Russian Federation formalised the Federal Assembly’s
status, the country’s bicameral parliament and set forth
the Federation Council’s powers and terms of reference. Under
the Constitution’s Article 95, the Federation Council comprises two
representatives from every Russian region: one from the representative
authority and one from the executive authority.
Deputies
of the upper house of parliament of the first
convocation were elected under a proportional majority system
in double-member electoral districts, established within
the administrative borders of Russian regions (one electoral district
in every Russian region). Prospective Federation Council members were
nominated by groups of voters and election blocs. Under interim
provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation,
deputies of the Federation Council of the first convocation
exercised their powers on a part-time basis. On 13 January 1994,
Vladimir Shumeiko was elected the first Speaker
of the Federation Council.
In late
1995, the Federal Law On the Procedure of Establishing
the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly
of the Russian Federation was passed. According to its
provisions, the Federation Council comprised two representatives from
every constituent entity of the Russian Federation: the head
of the regional legislature and the head
of the executive authority, ex-officio. On 23 February 1996,
Yegor Stroyev, Head of the Oryol Region Administration, was elected
Speaker of the Federation Council.
On 8
August 2000, the new Federal Law On the Procedure
of Establishing the Federation Council of the Federal
Assembly of the Russian Federation, entered into force. According
to its provisions, a representative of a Russian region’s
executive authority in the Federation Council was appointed
by the chief government official in that constituent entity
(head of the supreme executive authority of a constituent
entity). A Federation Council member representing a legislative
(representative) authority of a constituent entity was elected
by that same body for the entire duration of its term. If
a regional legislature was formed on a rotating basis,
a Federation Council member was appointed for the duration
of one term of its elected deputies. Federation Council members
exercised their powers on a full-time basis.
On 5
December 2001, Sergei Mironov, the representative of the St
Petersburg Legislative Assembly in the Federation Council, was
elected Speaker of the Federation Council.
On 4
February 2009, the Federation Council approved the Federal Law
On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation
in Connection with Changes in the Procedure of Establishing
the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly
of the Russian Federation. Under the new law, a citizen
of the Russian Federation who is a deputy
of a legislative (representative) authority
of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation,
or a deputy of a municipal entity’s representative body
located in a Russian region can be elected or appointed
to the Federation Council. The Law stipulated a transition
period during which incumbent Federation Council members were able
to complete their term. The new procedure for establishing
the Federation Council entered into force as of 1 January 2011.
On 10
September 2011, Valentina Matvienko, representative of the executive
authority of the city of St Petersburg, was elected Speaker
of the Federation Council.
The Federation
Council was restructured in November 2011, with ten new committees
replacing its 16 committees and 11 permanent commissions.
In 2012,
members of a Federation Council working group drafted the Federal
Law On the Procedure of Establishing the Federation Council
of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, which
sought to encourage more active involvement of Russian citizens
in establishing the “house of the regions.” Society
supported this initiative, and the President of the Russian
Federation submitted the draft law to the State Duma
in June.
On 20
November 2012, the State Duma passed the new Federal Law
On the Procedure of Establishing the Federation Council
of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
The Federation Council passed the document on 28 November, with
the President of Russia signing it on 3 December. The new
procedure for the formation of the Federation Council came into force on 1
January 2013.
Under
the law, only a deputy of a legislative authority
of a constituent entity can represent it in the Federation
Council. The regional parliament, by a majority of votes,
appoints the representative in the month after the first
sitting of a new convocation of the regional parliament.
When
electing the chief government official of a constituent entity
of the Russian Federation each candidate to this office submits
to the relevant election commission a list of three
candidates who meet the requirements and limitations as per
the Federal Law, and one of these three persons is appointed
to the Federation Council as a representative
of the executive authority of the relevant constituent
entity of the Russian Federation, if the candidate
to the office of chief government official
in the region is elected.
The Law
states expressly that a Russian citizen upon reaching 30 years
or older and living in the region in question
for the past five years can become a member
of the Federation Council. The so-called residency requirement
does not apply to Federal Assembly members, persons occupying state
positions or civil-service positions of the relevant Russian
region for a period of five years or those who had occupied
state positions or civil-service positions of the relevant
Russian region for the same time period pending their nomination
as prospective Federation Council members.
The Law
requires candidates to have an unimpeachable reputation.
A Russian citizen convicted for grave or particularly grave
crimes, or for extremist crimes, as stipulated
by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,
or whose conviction remains in effect, cannot become
a prospective Federation Council member.
The Law of the Russian Federation amending the Constitution, On the Federation
Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, which came into
force in 2014, stipulates that the President of the Russian Federation may
appoint up to 10 percent of the total number of the Federation Council members – representatives from legislative and executive authorities of the Russian
federal constituent entities.
The composition and powers of the Federation Council were expanded and requirements
for Federation Council members (senators) were changed following the enforcement of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation set out
in Article 1 of the Law of the Russian Federation No. 1-FKZ on amendment to the Constitution, dated 14 March 2020, On Improving the Regulation of Certain
Issues of the Organisation and Functioning of Public Authorities.
Under
Article 95 of the Constitution, the Federation Council includes two
representatives from each constituent entity of the Russian Federation: one
from the legislative and one from the executive body of state authority – for the term of office of the relevant body; the President of the Russian
Federation who has ceased to exercise his/her powers upon expiration of his/her
term of office or before the end of his/her term due to his/her resignation –
for life; no more than 30 representatives of the Russian Federation appointed
by the President of the Russian Federation, no more than seven of whom –
citizens who have done prominent services to the country in the spheres of state or public activities – may be appointed for life.
The Federal Law No 439-FZ On the Procedure of Establishing the Federation Council
of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, which was adopted and came
into force on 22 December 2020, set out requirements for citizens who wish to become senators. In particular, a senator of the Russian Federation must be at least 30 years old, with an impeccable reputation, must permanently reside in the Russian Federation and must not hold a foreign citizenship (nationality) or a residence permit or other document confirming the right to permanent
residence of a citizen of the Russian Federation in another country. There are
also restrictions preventing aspiring candidates from obtaining a seat in the Federation Council.
There
is an additional requirement for those aspiring to become senators of the Russian Federation representing a constituent entity of the Russian Federation:
the candidate must be a citizen of the Russian Federation with permanent
residence in the relevant constituent entity of the Russian Federation for the five years preceding his/her nomination as candidate for the post of Russian
Federation senator representing this constituent entity of the Russian
Federation, or for a total of 20 years preceding the nomination. There is also
a list of exemptions from this requirement.
Only
members of legislative (representative) authorities of constituent entities of the Russian Federation can become Federation Council members representing the relevant legislative (representative) authorities.
The decision to grant the powers of a senator of the Russian Federation acting as a representative from a constituent entity of the Russian Federation for the term
of office of the relevant body shall be taken by the newly elected legislative
(representative) body of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation and the newly elected head of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation
(head of the supreme legislative authority of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation).
The President of the Russian Federation who has ceased to exercise his/her powers
and decides to serve as a senator of the Russian Federation shall submit a written application to this effect to the Federation Council. An application of this kind can be submitted only once.
The senators of the Russian Federation acting as representatives of the Russian
Federation, with the exception of those who have been appointed for life, shall
be appointed by Presidential executive order for a term of six years.
The composition of the Federation Council has been expanded to balance federal and regional interests more effectively when adopting decisions aimed at attaining
national strategic development goals.
