State Duma (Russian Empire)

State Duma Государственная дума Gosudarstvennaya Duma
4th State Duma
Type
Type	Lower House of the Governing Senate
History
Founded	1905
Disbanded	1917
Preceded by	Zemsky Sobor
Succeeded by	Provisional Council of the Russian Republic
Leadership
Chairman of the State Duma	Sergey Muromtsev (first) Mikhail Rodzianko (last)
Seats	434–518
Elections
Voting system	Indirect elections, divided into 4 curiae.
Last election	September 1912
Meeting place
Tauride Palace, St. Petersburg

The State Duma, also known as the Imperial Duma, was the lower house of the legislature in the Russian Empire, while the upper house was the State Council. It held its meetings in the Tauride Palace in Saint Petersburg. It convened four times between 27 April 1906 and the collapse of the empire in February 1917. The first and the second dumas were more democratic and represented a greater number of national types^{[clarification needed]} than their successors.^[1] The third duma was dominated by gentry, landowners, and businessmen. The fourth duma held five sessions; it existed until 2 March 1917, and was formally dissolved on 6 October 1917.