, the previous Chairman of the State Duma
Sergey Naryshkin was appointed Director of the
Foreign Intelligence Service. On 23 September 2016,
President Vladimir Putin proposed to the United Russia to nominate Volodin as Naryshkin's successor. The majority leader
Vladimir Vasilyev endorsed Volodin's candidacy, alongside the faction of the
Liberal Democratic Party and
A Just Russia. On 5 October, Volodin was elected Chairman of the State Duma, with 404 votes. His only rival was the
communist Dmitry Novikov, who received 40 votes.
2021 In 2021, Volodin was again nominated to the chairmanship of the
8th State Duma. His candidacy was again endorsed by the Liberal Democratic Party and A Just Russia — For Truth. Novikov from the Communist Party was again the sole opponent running against Volodin. On 12 October, Volodin was re-elected Chairman of the State Duma with a majority of 360 votes.
Tenure in the State Duma, 21 June 2018 In October 2016, he was among the three most influential politicians in Russia (after presidents
Vladimir Putin and
Dmitry Medvedev) by rating of the Center for Political Technologies. According to a survey conducted by the expert-analytical center of
RANEPA, the level of recognition of Vyacheslav Volodin is at a high level. 83% of respondents know that he holds the post of Chairman of the State Duma. In addition, 78% of Russians have a positive or neutral view of Volodin's activities as Chairman of the State Duma. On 24 November 2016, he was elected Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization and on 26 December 2016 he was elected Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Union State. on 18 August 2018 As Chairman, Volodin actively began to deal with the discipline of deputies. At first he forbade deputies to vote by proxy for other deputies. In this connection, the deputies have to attend the meetings in person. Fines for missing meetings without a valid reason were also introduced. on 10 December 2018 On 6 March 2019, Vyacheslav Volodin, during a meeting of the State Duma, interrupted the report of the Minister of Economic Development
Maxim Oreshkin and did not allow him to finish his speech. Volodin accused him of being unprepared and offered to report again in a month (usually such reports pass only once a year). According to some deputies, this case is the first in the entire post-Soviet history of Russia. on 5 August 2021 On 6 April 2019, Volodin proposed amendments to the
Constitution allowing the State Duma to participate more actively in the formation of the
government. According to him, the State Duma should at least participate in consultations when appointing members of the government (currently, the participation of the State Duma in the formation of the government is limited only by the fact that it must give consent to the President to appoint the Prime Minister). Volodin said that the participation of the State Duma in the formation of the government "would be consistent with the principles of proper balance of power" and "would provide a higher level of responsibility" in the work of Ministers. In July 2019, Volodin again called for the introduction of appropriate amendments to the Constitution in his article in the
Parliamentary Newspaper. Later, Volodin's proposal was supported by the leaders of all opposition parliamentary parties. In January 2020, Putin proposed introducing such amendments during his
Address to the Federal Assembly. In November 2019, Volodin said that due to
Ukrainian nationalism and an alleged oppression of ethnic minorities, there was a chance that some
regions may separate from
Ukraine. On 28 January 2022, Volodin promised that "Russia will not go to war against Ukraine." On 24 February 2022, Volodin said that "the purpose" of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine is "to protect people living in Ukraine". He wrote on his Telegram that "demilitarizing Ukraine" is the "only path that will allow us to prevent war in Europe. Our only chance to stop the fighting and the humanitarian catastrophe." He has denounced Russians who
oppose the war as "traitors". On 6 July 2022, Volodin warned that Russia could demand back the US state of
Alaska, which was
sold by Russia to the United States in 1867, if the United States continued to
seize Russian assets abroad. Russian citizens critical of the
2022 Russian mobilization have used social media and other electronic means (e.g.
Twitter) to enquire en masse Russia's top officials and deputies, who supported war with Ukraine and mobilization, whether they themselves or their sons would go to the front. Most of them refused to answer or made excuses why it was not possible for them to go to war in Ukraine. Volodin said that the State Duma will support deputies who want to enlist in the army and go to Ukraine. at the "Russia-Africa" parliamentary conference in Moscow on 20 March 2023 In September 2022, Volodin met in Moscow with Chinese politician
Li Zhanshu, who was then a
CCP Politburo Standing Committee member and was considered one of the closest confidants of
CCP general secretary Xi Jinping. On 22 September 2022, in order to justify the military mobilization to the Russian public, he claimed that "not only armed Nazi formations, but also NATO forces are fighting against our soldiers and officers" in Ukraine. PA Council in Minsk, Belarus on 18 May 2023 To downplay the
international sanctions against Russia, Volodin stated that "Western sanctions are leading to the establishment of another group of eight nations—China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Iran and Turkey—that is 24.4% ahead of the old group of developed countries in terms of GDP and purchasing power parity." In January 2023, Volodin called the anti-war
Russians in exile "scoundrels" and demanded the confiscation of their properties in Russia. He repeatedly called Russians who left Russia after the invasion of Ukraine as "traitors". On 19–20 March 2023, the State Duma hosted the Second "Russia-Africa" International Parliamentary Conference and Volodin met with more than 40 parliamentary delegations from most
African countries. In a meeting with African representatives, he claimed that Washington and Brussels seek to take control of Russian and African natural resources and continue their
colonial policies, saying that "They take all measures, including violent and terrorist, for their own benefit." He held bilateral meetings with the Speaker of the National Assembly of
South Africa,
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. in Moscow on 14 June 2023 in Beijing on 22 November 2023 On 3 May 2023, Volodin called the alleged
drone attack on the
Kremlin a "terrorist attack" on Russia and compared the Ukrainian government to terrorist organizations such as
al-Qaeda and the
Islamic State, saying that "The Nazi Kyiv regime must be recognised as a terrorist organisation." He demanded the use of "weapons capable of stopping and destroying the Kyiv terrorist regime". On 18 May 2023, Volodin claimed that the "special military operation" in Ukraine "was inevitable." According to Volodin, "If it had not been started, the war that would have broken literally the following day or in a few days, would have dragged the world into a tragedy. That tragedy was prevented." He accused NATO, the United States and the European Union of "waging war in Ukraine" and claimed that "NATO assumed control over Ukraine, brought its mercenaries there both to power and to the battlefield." On 3 June 2023, Volodin represented Russia at the
inauguration ceremony of re-elected Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. On 19 June 2023, Volodin misrepresented Czech President
Petr Pavel's remarks that Russians living in the West should be "monitored" and put under
surveillance, and warned that Russians living abroad would be sent to
concentration camps. Volodin expressed support for Putin during the
Wagner Group rebellion. In October 2023, Volodin said that Russians who "desire the victory of the murderous Nazi Kyiv regime" should be sent to the far-eastern region of
Magadan, known for its Stalin-era
Gulag camps, and forced to work in the mines. In November 2023, he wrote on his Telegram channel that
Russians who left the country after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and are now returning "should understand that no one here is waiting for them with open arms" because they "committed treason against Russia". On 22 November 2023, he met with Chinese President
Xi Jinping in Beijing. Volodin said that Russia and China are "not only strategic partners, but also strategic friends." They talked about deepening cooperation in the field of international platforms such as the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the
BRICS group, the
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the
Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). On 16 February 2024, Volodin blamed "Washington", "
Brussels" and various critics of the Kremlin in Western "
unfriendly countries" for the
death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. On 6 July 2025
Communist Party of the Russian Federation congress adopted a resolution calling the 1956 report "
On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" made by
Nikita Khrushchev erroneous. Volodin praised this decision, saying that the report "formed negative attitude" towards
Stalin who "did all to win the
Great Patriotic War and to build the state". Volodin has claimed that the death penalty is a fair punishment for representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, referring to them as a 'neo-Nazi regime' and 'fascists'. ==2017 rumours of Volodin as president==