Russia Duma turf war: Slutsky loses committee chair, refuses to vacate office

A power struggle has erupted in Russia's State Duma between LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky and United Russia's Pyotr Tolstoy, with Slutsky losing his committee chairmanship but refusing to vacate his office. The standoff, confirmed by sources close to the Duma administration and an LDPR member, marks a rare internal conflict within Russia's otherwise tightly controlled parliament. This signals potential instability in the ruling elite's cohesion ahead of the 2026 electoral cycle.