Prominent Russian politicians and political scientists tried to answer the question concerning the agenda of the Russian parliament over the next four years at a round table of the Open Forum.

In the opinion of Political Technologies Center director Igor Bunin, the list of draft laws will probably be determined in the Kremlin. This will happen if the pro-Kremlin candidates obtain a
majority in the Duma. The centrists "will be allowed only to debate some populist projects from time to time". The president will hardly abandon the system of checks and balances inside his own administration, believes another prominent expert - Politika Foundation president Vyacheslav Nikonov. All the current Kremlin groups of influence will be preserved in one way or another. "It is hardly worth expecting changes in the legislative agenda too. It has largely been determined even now," claims Nikonov, adding that in the near future a reform of the prosecutor's office is possible. In the words of Sergei Ivanenko, deputy chairman of the Yabloko party, though, the agenda of the next Duma has considerably changed even now - over the past month and a half.

"There arose a question crucial for the future of the country, although topical mainly for Moscow and major industrial centers- concerning guarantees for property rights and the results of privatization". The result of "parliamentary elections is even more important than the presidential elections. Depending on the results of the Duma elections, a structure of the parliament will be formed that the president will have to deal with and that will serve as the basis for his policy", claims Ivanenko. That is, "the more democratic forces in the next Duma, the more the president heeds the proposals of Yabloko on the development of small and medium business, the social sphere and overcoming gangster-like capitalism which has become the main obstacle to Russia's rebirth."

See also:

State Duma elections 2003

Argumenty i Fakty, November 19, 2003