An Exploration Of The Tsarist Russia Duma And Its Influence

Because of the disassembly of the former Soviet Union, the Russian government reused "Duma"—the name of parliament during the Czar period. The modern Duma plays a more and more important role in the Russian society. This makes one think of the Duma during the Czar period when its appearance symbolizes the collapse of the Czar tyranny. Different historians have different comments towards the history during this period. The historians of the former Soviet Union comment the Duma's social influence from its impetus of the proletarian development, while some historians after the disassembly of the former Soviet Union discuss the Duma's influence on the development of society from the perspective of modernization.This thesis mainly analyzes, through the retrospection of the changing history of Duma during the Czar period, the Duma's influence on the Russian society, and consequently, tries to have some objective comments on its historical position.The conclusion of this thesis is shown as follows: No Matter how long the Duma exists, it has fulfilled its historic mission. It propels the democratic process of the Russian society, and at the same time, its contribution to the modernization of the Russian society is great. In effect the Duma is not very powerful as an executive institute, yet its importance lies in its influence on the Russian society. The Duma brings vitality to the Russian society, motivating the people to rebel against their awkward living conditions and encouraging the common people to join together in caring about the fate of their country.The structure of this thesis is consists of three parts. Part One introduces the social background of the founding of the Duma and its principles. Part Two introduces the major social activities of the Duma. The first session of the Duma is from April 27^th, 1906 to July 9^th, 1906, existing only for 72 days;the second session is from February 20^th, 1907 to June 3^rd1907, dying away after existing for 103 days. The third session is from June 3^rd 1907 to June 8^th, 1912, then the Czar enacted an issue to stop the activity of the Duma and on August 29^th abolished it;the fourth session began on November 15^th, 1912 and ended on February 26^th. During this period the February Revolution broke out and its temporary government announced the disassembly of the fourth session Duma. Part Three is the key content of the thesis, it has a detailed analysis of the Duma's historic position on the Russian society and its influence on the later political activity of Russia.