Authors

Discussion

This paper will examine the structure, actions, and personalities within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, later Russian Federation Congress of People's Deputies.. The parliament, which served as the parliament of Russia from 1990 to 1993, is often portrayed in existing literature as undemocratic and quasi-fascist, justifying Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s actions in dissolving it. 

The paper argues that while the parliament was far from what is generally considered to be  a democratic ideal its existence as an institution served as an important counterweight to executive power. It will challenge the notion that parliament was exclusively a haven for Soviet hardliners and nationalist and show that the parliament was a rather eclectic collection of ideologies. I will make my argument by drawing on primary from the Russian State Archives, Yeltsin Library and Carnegie Endowment as well as secondary sources that show the parliament was clearly democratically elected and functioned as a democratic institution.