The origin of Russian parliamentarism: to the issue of elections in the 1st - 4th State Duma of the Russian empire

At the beginning of the 20th century in the Russian Empire, there were complex and dramatic events that left an indelible mark on the history of the country. One of these significant events was the attempt by the authorities to transform the form of government from an unrestricted monarchy into a parliamentary one by establishing the State Duma, which was convened and dissolved by the Emperor. In a relatively short period (1906-1912) four times convened this representative and legislative body, the importance of which was the fact that the opportunity to participate in the lawmaking received almost all representatives of the complex social structure of the empire (classes and grades). The article draws a parallel between the elections to the State Duma at the beginning of the 20th century and the formation of modern Russian parliamentarism in order to identify constant and variable factors in the history of Russia.