September 16, 2025

Sets of deputy speaker positions in the legislative assemblies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation: the “optimal configuration” according to the theory of clubs

Key Points

The study identifies that the optimal configuration of deputy speaker positions may not enhance legislative effectiveness.
Expert opinions reveal a trend of increasing deputy speaker positions in newly formed Dumas post-2024 elections.
The analysis separates deputy roles into categories, indicating the complexity of political representation in regional assemblies.
Understanding the management dynamics within the legislative authority can inform future reforms and specialization of deputy roles.

Abstract

Bureaucratization of government bodies is one of the most significant factors that reduce the effectiveness of the administrative and political elite, therefore it is important to consider measures to optimize the management apparatus in regional political institutions. This article examines the “optimal configuration” of the sets of deputy speaker positions in a legislative authority with a complex inverted hierarchy, i.e. the 6th and the 7th Dumas of the Tambov Region. With the help of focused interviews, expert opinions on the optimal transformation options for the management apparatus of the 7th Duma of the Tambov Region the number and type of positions of deputy speakers, the preferred form of their employment, and the need of deputy speakers to be in charge of permanent legislative committees were studied. According to their perspective value, the received opinions were divided into concepts and non-concepts for each studied aspect of the issue. The author separates the concepts of “professional political deputy” (a deputy who has been elected to the legislative authorities at least three times), “professional deputy” (a deputy with competence) and “professional fulltime deputy” (a deputy working on a permanent basis) and analyses typical sets of deputy speaker positions in all regional legislative authorities of Russia. It was found that after the elections to regional parliaments in 2024 the number of deputy speaker positions in the newly formed Dumas continues to grow. The agreement on the distribution of benefits by the group within the club (i.e. by the management within the legislative authority) was supplemented by a new option of their distribution within the 7th Duma of the Tambov Region: all deputy speakers can be in charge of the permanent bodies of the legislative authority, but only one of the three deputy speakers can actually head the committee. The author concludes that the transformation of the configuration of deputy speaker positions in the 6th and 7th Dumas of the Tambov Region cannot serve for the improvement of the existing deputy cabinet.

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