The effect of district: Russian single-member district deputies and their constituents' preferences

For representative democracies to function properly, elected officials must represent the interests of their constituents. This article attempts to determine whether the voting behaviour of Russian single-member district deputies in the first two post-communist Dumas was influenced by constituent preferences. Previous research on the Duma has questioned the existence of such constituent-legislator links in the new Russia. Based upon a statistical analysis of Duma voting behaviour, this article argues that even when controlling for other factors the voting behaviour of Russian single-member district deputies was in fact influenced by constituent preferences.