About us

Murmansk Regional Duma (Murmansk Regional Parliament) is a permanent acting legislative and representative body of state power of the Murmansk Region.

Regional Duma considers legislative proposals and adopts Charter of Murmansk Region and Regional Laws including laws on Regional Budget, structure, procedure of forming and activity of Regional Government, as well as laws on Local Government issues.

Regional Duma makes up regional election legislation, including laws regulating the procedure of elections of Regional Duma members, mayors and municipal councils' members and the procedure for regional and local referendum.

Regional Duma approves regional programmes of social-economic development, imposes number of taxes and duties, fixes the procedure of their collection, establishes the procedure of administration of Regional Property and the procedure of land and natural resources use.

Regional Duma vests with authority the Governor of Murmansk Region, gives approval to the candidatures of First Vice-Governors, nominates Chairman, Vice-Chairman and auditors of Regional Audit Chamber and members of the Regional Election Commission.

Regional Duma is entitled with the powers to control budget execution, designation and spending of credit resources and appropriations from federal budget; administration of the regional public property In order to execute the control powers in 1997 the Regional Audit Chamber which is the permanent acting body of the financial control was formed by Murmansk Regional Duma. The Chamber once every three months informs Regional Duma about the process of budget execution.

Murmansk Regional Duma was established in December 1994. It consists of 36 representatives (members) who are elected by the population for a term of five years. The latest elections were held in December 2011. Half of members were elected in single-seat constituencies (electoral districts), the rest 18 – in the unified regional electoral district in proportion of the number of votes cast for regional lists of candidates nominated by political parties.

There are four party groups in Regional Duma: "United Russia" political party faction consists of 22 members, "Just Russia" political party group includes 5 members, "Communist Party of Russian Federation" parliamentary group consists of 5 members and "Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia" parliamentary group has 3 members. We also have one non-affiliated member.

12 profile committees are formed in Duma. Committees prepare the maters for final consideration at the Duma's plenary sessions. The main form of Duma's activity is a session. Duma convenes in sessions once a month, as a rule.

Duma’s role is to provide the legislative support and effective interaction between authorities of local, regional and federal levels. Duma’s members pay a very close heed to the regional development. We are working to establish the regional regulatory and legal framework. It includes the tax legislation, legislation which ensures the environmental security, the bills which stimulate the production, investments and innovations, the laws which could create conditions for attraction and training of highly qualified labor force.

For working out the regional laws we conduct the parliamentary hearings with participation of federal and regional authorities, municipalities, businessmen, experts and non-governmental organizations.

On the issues which are out of our regional competence we cooperate with profiled committees in the Federal Parliament. We are able to introduce the draft bills of federal laws using our power to introduce legislation in State Duma.

The tool for interaction with local authorities is Coordinative Body for municipals councils which were established in the Murmansk Regional Duma. Duma’s members have rather good interaction with voters in the constituencies, all Duma's members regularly visit their constituencies, meet people and try to solve their problems.

Murmansk Regional Duma has good links and interaction with other regional parliaments in Russian Federation, especially in the North-West Russia. We are members of the Parliamentary Association of the North-West Russia which unites 11 regional parliaments of the North-West Federal District.

Murmansk Regional Duma takes an active part in international cooperation within the framework of inter-parliamentary organizations such as Nordic Council, Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, Conference of the parliamentarians of the Arctic Region and others.

We develop our dialogue with our colleagues at the regional level, with regional politicians of Norway and Finland. We conducted very positive meetings with members of the Regional Council of Lapland and Troms County Council. Murmansk Regional Duma hosted the Conference for regional politicians of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council.

Murmansk Regional Duma of the 5th convocation
(2011 - 2016)

Speaker: Mr.Vasiliy Shambir

First Vice-speaker: Ms.Marina Kovtun

Vice-speakers:
Mr.Alexander Krupaderov
Mr.Alexander Makarevich
Ms.Nadezhda Maksimova
Mr.Vyacheslav Popov
Mr.Pavel Sazhinov
Mr.Andrey Chernev
Mr.Igor Chernyshenko