Overview
- The State Duma press service said on January 22 that the plenary-hall balcony is reverting to its original use for federal television operators.
- Independent photojournalists remain allowed to shoot in other parts of the parliament building, according to the official clarification.
- Plenary sessions are transmitted live with sound, which officials argue allows the public to see proceedings in full.
- A staff photographer from the Duma press service works in the chamber and publishes images on the legislature’s official website.
- Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin previously urged photographers to stop “mocking” deputies and to change what he called outdated behavior, a point referenced in the press-service explanation.