what was duma

Duma is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term boyar duma is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia. The first formally constituted state duma was the Imperial State Duma introduced to the Russian Empire by Emperor Nicholas II in 1905. The Duma consisted of landowners, representatives of the industrial middle class, merchants, city intellectuals, and peasants. The Duma was meant to be a democratically elected, representative body that would advise the Tsar on issues of policy in Russia. However, the Fundamental Laws, issued in April 1906, before the First Duma met (May 1906), deprived it of control over state ministers and portions of the state budget and limited its ability to initiate legislation effectively. Since 1993, the State Duma has functioned as the lower legislative house of the Russian Federation.