The State Duma is the 450-seat lower house of Russia's Federal Assembly

Background

This standing fact sits behind United Russia's win of 355 of the 450 State Duma seats. Russia's parliament is called the Federal Assembly and has two chambers. The State Duma is the lower chamber and holds 450 seats, so 226 is a simple majority and 300 the two-thirds mark. Elections to the Duma are conducted by the Central Electoral Commission, which is chaired by Ella Pamfilova and which declares the turnout and the final seat tally. Russia is a federation, and its regions - oblasts, krais and republics - each have their own regional legislature; the Novgorod region is one such oblast. A party may therefore win seats in a regional parliament without winning any at the national level.