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
Germany’s foreign ministry on Saturday denounced Israel’s approval of a new plan that would see over...
A man who disarmed one of the gunmen in the deadly attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach...
U.S. envoys arrived in Berlin Sunday morning for another round of talks intended to secure a...
At least 11 people were killed and dozens more were wounded in a shooting at Sydney's...
