The Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg () is the regional parliament of Saint Petersburg, a federal subject (federal city) of Russia. It was established in 1994, succeeding the Leningrad Council of People's Deputies (Lensovet).

It is a permanent body, and the supreme and only governing body in St Petersburg. It is located in the Mariinsky Palace. Its powers and duties are defined in the Charter of Saint Petersburg.

History Russian Empire

Saint Petersburg's city duma was established in 1786 as part of Catherine II's reforms on local government.

In 1798, Paul I abolished the city duma and replaced it with the Ratusha (Rathaus) until the city duma was restored in 1802. The city duma was again abolished in 1918 with its functions devolved to the Petrograd Soviet.

Russian Federation Initially it was the speaker of the Assembly who served as member of the Federation Council of Russia representing the legislative power body of this federal subject. However, in 2000 the federal legislation changed and the duties were delegated to a separate person to be elected by the regional legislature (not necessarily among its members). From June 13, 2001 until May 18, 2011, Sergey Mironov occupied this position.

According to federal legislation from 2005, the governor of Saint Petersburg (as well as heads of other federal subjects of Russia) was proposed by the President of Russia and approved by the regional legislature. On December 20, 2006, incumbent Valentina Matviyenko was approved as governor. In 2012, following the passage of a new federal law, which restored direct elections of the heads of federal subjects, the city charter was again amended.

Convocations The first three convocations were formed by a single-member district plurality voting system with at least 20% participation required (except for the 1994 elections with their changing participation threshold), two-round for the first and second convocations and single-round for the third one. On March 11, 2007, the fourth elections were held using a party-list proportional representation system with a 7-percent election threshold and no required threshold of participation for the first time according to the new city law accepted by the third convocation of the assembly in 2006 and new federal legislation.

1st convocation: March 20–21/October 30/November 20, 1994 2nd convocation: December 6/December 20, 1998 3rd convocation: December 8, 2002 4th convocation: March 11, 2007 5th convocation: December 4, 2011 6th convocation: September 18, 2016 7th convocation: September 17–19, 2021 8th convocation: September 18–20, 2026

Composition The Assembly is a permanent body, and the supreme and only governing body in Saint Petersburg. It consists of fifty seats and is elected for a five-year term. Half of this number run in single-mandate constituencies, while the other half are in a single electoral district, with winners elected in proportion to the number of votes cast. The candidates are nominated by electoral associations.

2026 Party%Seats United Russia 54.66 37 New People 12.35 4 Liberal Democratic Party 12.15 4 Communist Party 10.5 2 The Greens 6.10 3 A Just Russia 2.65 0Registered voters/turnout 55.20

Structure and governor The highest executive body of state power in Saint Petersburg is the government of Saint Petersburg, headed by the Governor of Saint Petersburg, who is the region's highest-ranking official. The Governor is elected for five years by Russian citizens who live in Saint Petersburg permanently.

, the incumbent governor is Alexander Beglov, who was re-elected for a second term of office in 2024.

Past compositions 2007 Party%Seats United Russia 37.37 23 A Just Russia 21.90 13 Communist Party 16.02 9 Liberal Democratic Party 10.88 5 Patriots of Russia 5.60 0 Union of Right Forces 5.17 0Registered voters/turnout 33.18

2011 Party%Seats United Russia 36.96 20 A Just Russia 23.08 12 Communist Party 13.69 7 Yabloko 12.50 6 Liberal Democratic Party 10.17 5 Patriots of Russia 1.19 0 Union of Right Forces 0.82 0Registered voters/turnout 54.27

2016 Party%Seats United Russia 41.25 36 Liberal Democratic Party 12.40 3 Communist Party 11.26 3 Party of Growth 10.72 3 Yabloko 9.77 2 A Just Russia 9.10 3 People's Freedom Party 2.11 0 Labor Front 0.78 0Registered voters/turnout 32.41

2021 Party%Seats United Russia 33.29 30 Communist Party 17.47 7 A Just Russia — For Truth 12.71 5 New People 10.03 3 Yabloko 9.15 2 Liberal Democratic Party 7.90 3 Party of Growth 4.13 0 Party for Freedom and Justice 2.43 0Registered voters/turnout 35.52

Controversy

While non-systemic opposition was largely eliminated from the elections, those candidates (mostly of systemic opposition) who were allowed to participate were targeted by various semi-legal intimidation or confusion techniques. The one includes "doppelganger candidates", where a person of similar look and surname was put on the same ballot in order to confuse voters. A remarkable case of Boris Vishnevskiy, a candidate of the Yabloko party, who run in the №2 Saint Petersburg circuit with two nearly indistinguishable doppelgängers alongside was widely reported. Both have changed their legal names to "Boris Vishnevsky" shortly before the elections, and returned to their original names shortly after it was finished.

Speakers Name Period Notes1st convocation January 5, 1995 – April 2, 1998,Dismissed ahead of scheduleSergei MironovApril 2, 1998 – 1999Acting2nd convocation1999Acting, assassinated on October 20, 1999June 7, 2000 – January 15, 20033rd convocationJanuary 15, 2003 – December 13, 20114th convocation5th convocationVyacheslav MakarovDecember 14, 2011 – September 28, 20166th convocationSeptember 28, 2016 – September 29, 20217th convocationSeptember 29, 2021 – present

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