State Duma Investigates Aides for Illegally Selling Access to Parliamentary Roundtables

Fifteen staff members in Russia’s State Duma have been dismissed following an internal investigation that revealed their involvement in selling access to parliamentary roundtable discussions, as reported by the RBC news outlet on Monday, citing two knowledgeable sources.

Vyacheslav Volodin, the Speaker of the State Duma and a member of the ruling United Russia Party, initiated the investigation during a private session held last Wednesday, according to the newspaper Vedomosti.

The inquiry indicated that these aides were offering paid participation to external individuals and businesses for State Duma roundtables, effectively commodifying what are intended to be free and regulated parliamentary events.

Sources informed RBC that the dismissed aides were associated with Andrei Svintsov and Kaplan Panesh from the far-right Liberal Democratic Party, Roza Chemeris of the center-right New People party, and Yevgeny Fyodorov of United Russia.

Svintsov confirmed to RBC that 12 of his unpaid assistants had been let go, claiming it was simply part of an annual rotation among volunteers.

Chemeris stated she had personally terminated her aide’s employment due to «shattered nerves,» while Fyodorov denied any involvement in the dismissal of his staff member.

All three lawmakers expressed ignorance regarding the paid-access scheme.

The controversy came to light last week when New People legislator Sardana Avksentyeva reported seeing a Telegram message promoting paid access to a State Duma roundtable, allegedly linked to a lesser-known business organization.

Avksentyeva noted that the organization, the World Entrepreneurs Alliance, hosted a business roundtable at the State Duma last month and is planning further events focused on healthcare in December and psychology in January.