Dynamika zmian systemu wyborczego do Dumy Państwowej Federacji Rosyjskiej w latach 2003-2016

Abstract

In authoritarian political systems, regular multi-party elections and the functioning of legislative bodies take on specific importance compared to democratic systems. Depending on the potential of an undemocratic system, these institutions may contribute to the consolidation of the political regime or pose a threat to its balance. In Russia, universal multi-party elections to the State Duma have been held regularly, and since 2003 the lower house of parliament has been dominated by United Russia. At the same time, a very high instability of the electoral system used in the elections to the State Duma is observed. In the dissertation, four election cycles were analysed in terms of reforms of the electoral system. The dissertation aims to understand the reasons and logic of so many changes made within the electoral system in the indicated period. The main task of the dissertation is to verify the relationship between the election successes of the ruling party and the dynamics of changes in the electoral system. The dissertation includes an analysis of individual electoral system reforms carried out in the period 2003-2016, election campaigns, and the results of elections. The socio-political context and the interests of the ruling elite at that time were taken into account, which, together with the findings regarding the importance of the State Duma elections for the contemporary political system of Russia and the importance of the functioning of the Duma itself, made it possible to show the reasons, beneficiaries, and logic of the reforms decisions made in this regard.