Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Federal Assembly is the bicameral national legislature of Russia, established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993. It replaced the former Supreme Soviet of Russia and consists of two chambers: the Federation Council (upper house) and the State Duma (lower house), both located in Moscow.
The Federation Council is the upper house and handles powers such as approving martial law, appointing judges of higher courts, and appointing the Prosecutor General. The State Duma is the lower house and deals with legislation, confidence votes in the Government, and appointing the Governor of the Central Bank. All bills must be considered by the State Duma first before moving to the Federation Council.
The Chairman of the Federation Council becomes Acting President of Russia if both the President and the Prime Minister are simultaneously incapacitated. This makes the Federation Council's Speaker the third most important position in the Russian government.
Since the 2003 elections, analysts and observers have referred to the Federal Assembly as a rubber stamp institution. The label reflects the perception that the Assembly approves decisions made by the executive branch rather than exercising independent legislative authority.
The Federation Council can reject bills passed by the State Duma, but its veto can be overridden if two thirds of the Duma's constitutional composition vote in favor of the original bill. If the two chambers disagree, they must first form a conciliation commission to seek a compromise before the override option is exercised.
The idea of a combined parliamentary center for the State Duma and Federation Council was first raised in the mid-2000s and was supported by President Dmitry Medvedev in 2012. The Mnyovniki floodplain in Moscow was selected as the site in September 2014, but the project was postponed in 2016 due to economic conditions and disagreements over the building's design.