How far do you agree that the Dumas were nothing more than rubber stamp assemblies?

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How far do you agree that the Dumas were nothing more than rubber stamp assemblies? (30)

The Dumas were a Russian elected parliament created by Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia.  Tsar Nicholas was a strong believer and upholder of the autocracy, after seeing his father and grandfather fall to the ways of attempted revolution, and their attempts to uphold the autocracy; he wanted to make sure the Autocracy was upheld.

During the time of the Imperial ruling in Russia, there were many economic and social changes; therefore resulting in more change wanted, and people starting to form opinions against the system.  The “Age of the Dumas” lasted in Russia between the years of 1906-1914.  The Duma was granted by Tsar Nicholas II as part of his “October Manifesto” in which concessions were granted in an attempt to stem the tide of revolution.   These Dumas were part of a constitutional experiment in Russia in which the attempt of a parliament would come into play.

The State Duma was to be the lower house of a parliament, and the State Council of Imperial Russia the upper house.  The Tsar pledged to introduce further civil liberties, provide for broad participation in a new "State Duma", and to endow the Duma with legislative and oversight powers.

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The first Duma opened on 27 April 1906 with roughly 500 deputies.  Many radical left parties, such as the Socialist Revolutionary Party had boycotted the election, leaving the moderate Constitutional Democrats aka The Kadets with the most deputies.  Second came an alliance of slightly more radical left wing parties, the Trudoviks, with around 100 deputies. To the right of both were a number of smaller parties, including the Octobrists.  Together, they had around 45 deputies. Other deputies, mainly from peasant groups, were independent.

The Duma ran between April and June 1906, with limited success. The Tsar and Prime Minister ...

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