The Federation Council senators with the worst attendance records are Sergei Pugachyov and Lyudmila Narusova, both of whom represent the republic of Tuva, and Suleiman Kerimov of Dagestan, according to a Public Chamber report to be released Tuesday.
Parliamentary slackers came into the spotlight in late May after Ren-TV aired footage of a Duma session successfully passing legislation on drunk driving even though only 88 of the 450 deputies were in attendance.
Pugachyov and Kerimov rank among Russia's richest businessmen, with fortunes estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.08 billion and $5.5 billion, respectively. Narusova is the widow of Anatoly Sobchak, the former mayor of St. Petersburg and a patron of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Her daughter, Ksenia Sobchak, is a prominent socialite.
None of the lawmakers made any immediate comment about the Public Chamber report, which was leaked to Noviye Izvestia on Monday. The report did not specify how many sessions the lawmakers had skipped.
In the State Duma, six United Russia deputies and a single Just Russia deputy habitually skip parliamentary sessions, the report said. The United Russia deputies are Novatek chairman Leonid Simanovsky, Metalloinvest co-owner Andrei Skoch and Tveragrostroi chairman Alexander Tyagunov, as well as former gymnastic champions Alina Kabayeva and Svetlana Khorkina.
The Just Russia deputy is Alexander Babakov, a current deputy Duma speaker and a former leader of the Rodina party.
In April, President Dmitry Medvedev criticized Duma deputies for missing sessions regularly, prompting United Russia to propose legislation ensuring the dismissal of the worst offenders.
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