ABSTRACT
As shown in this chapter, the new imperial institution, consisting of the State Duma and the State Council, stabilized under the name of “legislative chambers.” They were seen by many as a vernacular manifestation of parliament. The Third and Fourth Dumas were not always recognized as a “representation of the people,” and the disillusionment of peasants with the Duma's inability to resolve the land question created further alienation. Nevertheless, the practice of the regularly operating legislature made it part of Russian political life. The Third and Fourth Dumas also played a crucial role in bringing non-Russian and non-elite deputies into the government in the broader sense. The Duma was still important for politicizing difference and amplifying oppositional discourses, including autonomism. During the First World War, the Progressive Bloc consolidated particularistic projects, emphasizing the inclusionary vision of a political community. Liberal legal scholars saw signs of Russia's slow transition to parliamentarism. While socialists harshly criticized the State Duma, some of them saw parliamentarism as progress, particularly in Asia. Like before, there were also many critical voices that focused not just on the deficiencies of the State Duma but on the inadequacy of the parliamentary system as a whole.
