Putin schedules the first session of the State Duma of the IX convocation for September 30

This is the shortest interval between elections and the start of the State Duma’s work in the history of modern Russia. The first session of the State Duma of the IX convocation will take place on September 30, just 10 days after the elections, and the corresponding decree was signed by Vladimir Putin.

According to Article 99 of the Constitution, the lower house of parliament convenes on the 30th day after the election, but the president may set an earlier date. In the first three convocations under Boris Yeltsin, deputies began work a month after the vote — in 1994, 1996, and 2000.

Later, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev instructed newly elected deputies to begin work two to three weeks earlier than scheduled. Thus, the State Duma convened 22–23 days after the elections in 2003, 2007, and 2021, while in 2011 and 2016 the first sessions were held 17 days after the vote.

Initially, the new convocation of the State Duma was supposed to convene 15 days after the elections, Interfax wrote, citing sources in parliament. The date was then moved five days earlier, and the agency’s interlocutors explained this by an “especial focus on prompt work”.

Sources

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