ELECTORAL INSTITUTIONS AND PARTY COHESION IN THE RUSSIAN DUMA

Russia's mixed single-member-district (SMD)-party list electoral syste m invites analysis of the effect of electoral rules on legislators' be havior in the context of an invariant set of legislative and constitut ional rules. The paper estimates a model of the effects of electoral m andate and party affiliation on levels of factional cohesion in floor voting. No major within-faction differences between list and SMD membe rs in levels of voting agreement were found, but interfactional differ ences in cohesiveness were related to the overall mix of list and SMD deputies within them. The implications of the findings for the develop ment of a competitive party system in Russia are discussed.