Editing Parliament (section)

===Russia===
[[File:Фракция ЕР В Зале Пленарных Заседаний ГД.JPG|thumb|[[State Duma]] of the [[Federal Assembly of Russia]]]]
The [[Zemsky Sobor|zemsky sobor]] (Russian: зе́мский собо́р) was the first Russian parliament of the feudal Estates type, in the 16th and 17th centuries. The term roughly means assembly of the land.

It could be summoned either by [[Tsardom of Russia|tsar]], or [[Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'|patriarch]], or the [[Boyar Duma]]. Three categories of population, comparable to the Estates-General of France but with the numbering of the first two Estates reversed, participated in the assembly:

* Nobility and high bureaucracy, including the Boyar Duma
* The Holy Sobor of high [[Russian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] clergy
* Representatives of merchants and townspeople (third estate)

The name of the parliament of nowadays Russian Federation is the [[Federal Assembly of Russia]]. The term for its lower house, [[State Duma]] (which is better known than the Federal Assembly itself, and is often mistaken for the entirety of the parliament) comes from the Russian word ''думать'' (''dumat''),  "to think". The [[Boyar Duma]] was an advisory council to the [[grand prince]]s and [[tsars]] of [[Tsardom of Russia|Muscovy]]. The Duma was discontinued by [[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]], who transferred its functions to the [[Governing Senate]] in 1711.

====Novgorod and Pskov====
The ''[[veche]]'' was the highest legislature and judicial authority in the republic of [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorod]] until 1478. In its sister state, [[Pskov Republic|Pskov]], a separate veche operated until 1510.

Since the Novgorod revolution of 1137 ousted the ruling [[grand prince]], the veche became the supreme state authority. After the reforms of 1410, the veche was restructured on a model similar to that of [[Venice]], becoming the [[Commons]] chamber of the parliament. An upper [[Senate]]-like Council of Lords was also created, with title membership for all former city magistrates. Some sources indicate that veche membership may have become full-time, and parliament deputies were now called ''vechniks''.  It is recounted that the Novgorod assembly could be summoned by anyone who rung the veche [[bell (instrument)|bell]], although it is more likely that the common procedure was more complex. This bell was a symbol of republican sovereignty and independence. The whole population of the city—boyars, merchants, and common citizens—then gathered at [[Yaroslav's Court]]. Separate assemblies could be held in the districts of Novgorod. In Pskov the veche assembled in the court of the [[Trinity Cathedral in Pskov|Trinity cathedral]].