Press Release, 10.04.2020

Boris Vishnevsky, head of the Yabloko faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, submitted to the city parliament a bill envisaging a rent waiver on non-residential premises for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as non-profit organisations they rent from the city of St.Petersburg for the entire period of validity of the restrictions related to the spread of COVID-19 infection in St. Petersburg.  Anatoly Golov, member of the Yabloko party Bureau and Co-Chair of the Consumers Union of Russia, took part in the development of the draft law.

Boris Vishnevsky also proposes to extend the law to all legal relations arising after March 22, 2020.

The head of the Yabloko faction noted he had been waiting in vain until the city government could offer something in this direction, so he decided to propose it himself.

“The meaning is simple: those who rent premises from the city, and whom the city government forbade to work for the period of the “quarantine” restrictions, should be exempted from rent for this period. This is fair. One cannot force people to pay rent if, because of one’s decisions, they cannot work in these premises and earn money. And it is about the abolition of the rent, and not about the sly “deferment” (when they come later and asked to pay for this time too),” Boris Vishnevsky emphasised.

It should be noted that the first package of Yabloko’s proposals on urgent measures in the situation of COVID-19 pandemic was sent to the President, the Government and the parliament.