Chairman of Russia’s lower house (State Duma) of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, will arrive in Dushanbe on October 18 on a three-day official visit, Muhammadato Sultonov, a spokesman for the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament), told Asia-Plus in an interview.  

While in Dushanbe, Volodin will hold talks with Majlisi Namoyandagon Speaker Shukurjon Zuhurov and some other high-raking Tajik state officials to discuss cooperation.  

Russian parliament speaker is also scheduled to meet with teachers and students at the Russian-Tajik Slavic University (RTSU) and visit the National Museum and the Kokhi Navrouz Complex.

Vyacheslav Volodin is also expected to visit the Nurek hydroelectric power plant (HPP), Sultonov said.

Vyacheslav Volodin (born February 4, 1964) is a Russian politician who has served as the 10th Chairman of the State Duma since 5 October 2016.

He is a former aide to President Vladimir Putin.  The former Secretary-General of the United Russia party, he was a deputy in the State Duma from 1999 until 2011 and from 2016 to present day. From 2010 until 2012 he was Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. He is also a former first deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia.

The State Duma, commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma, is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house is the Council of the Federation.

The Duma headquarters are located in central Moscow.  Its members are referred to as deputies. The State Duma replaced the Supreme Soviet as a result of the new constitution introduced by Boris Yeltsin in the aftermath of the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993, and approved by the Russian public in a referendum.

Any Russian citizen who is age 21 or older is eligible to participate in the election may be elected deputy to the State Duma.  However, that same person may not be a deputy to the Federation Council.  In addition, a State Duma deputy cannot hold office in any other representative body of state power or bodies of local self-government.  The office as deputy of the State Duma is a full-time and professional position.  Thus, deputies to the State Duma may not be employed in the civil service or engage in any activities for remuneration other than teaching, research or other creative activities.

The State Duma forms committees and commissions.  Committees are the main organs of the House involved in the legislative process.  They are formed, as a rule, according to the principle of proportional representation of parliamentary associations. Chairmen of committees and their first deputies and deputies are elected by a majority vote of all deputies of the parliamentary representation of associations.