It doesn't happen often, but Russia's Senate has actually rejected a draft law

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin couldn’t get the Federation Council to pass his draft legislation prohibiting cruelty against animals in the training of hunting dogs, but he’s got a backup plan, and the bill is now headed for a mediation committee.

On December 26, the upper house of Russia’s parliament broke with the State Duma and rejected Volodin's law. The Duma's speaker insists that his bill has the support of President Putin.

The Federation Council’s rejection of Volodin’s bill marks just the second time since October 2016 (when Volodin became the Duma's speaker) that the parliament’s upper house has voted against a draft law approved by the lower house. (The other law that failed to pass the Federation Council during this time would have banned housing and utilities advertisements on receipts.)

Senator Sergey Kalashnikov raised eyebrows by comparing Volodin’s legislation to a law protecting gay rights, arguing that a prohibition on tough dog training is liberal foolishness. After his remark, Kalashnikov was reminded by a colleague at the Federation Council that comparisons between wild animals and members of the LGBT community are “impermissible.”