The country's parliament voted to back a bill backed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's dominant United Russia party giving three judges the right to rule on cases involving terrorism, hostage-taking, armed insurrection, sabotage and civil disturbances.
The bill will go before Russia's upper house, the Federation Council where approval is expected to be a formality, before it becomes law.
The move came 15 years to the day since the adoption of Russia's first post-Soviet Constitution which reintroduced jury trials abolished by the Bolsheviks in 1917.
Critics said the move raised the spectre of a return to Soviet-style trials controlled solely by judges.
Russia scraps right to jury trial
Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war is still being fought...
Casualty counts: Over the past 24 hours, seven Palestinians were injured in Israeli attacks in Gaza....
The confirmed count of Russian soldiers, officers, sailors and airmen confirmed killed in action or dead...
New York City offers a contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Border Patrol,...
