Grigory Yavlinsky’s blog, 04.09.2014

The attack on Lev Shlosberg, Chair of the Pskov branch of YABLOKO, deputy of the Pskov region Legislative Assembly, a well-known politician and journalist, is part of the coming campaign on intimidation of the citizens of Russia. Intimidation of those who openly express disagreement with the authorities’ course now and those who may ask sharp questions in the future.

This criminal act of revenge has been planned a long time ago and aims to intimidate honest people who disagree with the military and political advanture and are ready to reveal the lie, which follows it, consider the war between Russia and Ukraine useless and criminal and ready to take actions to stop it.

Lev Shlosberg is a courageous and brave person who has been protecting the Constitution, Russia’s laws, the rights and freedoms of the citizens for years and by doing this made enemies among those who abuse all these values for their personal interests and make up crazy ideas.

Shlosberg’s work at the Pskov region Legislative Assembly, where only his voice protests against all the adventurous and crazy proposals of the loyal deputies, is the work at the front edge of the fight for human dignity.

The respond to his work is hatred on behalf of those who can set nothing against Shlosberg but voting machine and physical intimidation.

Within the last weesk Shlosberg’s activity gained the all-Russia popularity – it was him who revealed the facts of sending Russia’s paratroopers to Ukraine and Shlosberg was the first to publish the photographs of the graves of Russia’s soldiers who died in Ukraine in the Pskov Gubernia newspaper.

The essence of Lev Shlosberg’s work is to protect the honour and dignity of the citizens and not to leave Russia’s soldiers, who were sent to Ukriane and died there, unknown. In my opinion there could be nothing more shameful for the authorities than to give up their own soldiers who they meaningly but secretly send to this war. Such thing happens not for the first time – this way it happened in Chechnya in 1994 when even under threat of shooting of the captured Russia’s soldiers all the authorities of Russia gave them up including the Minister for Defense, the Minister of Internal Affairs, head of the FSB, the Prime Minister and, finally, the President. Not all of the soldiers have been rescued then.

Those who attacked Lev Shlosberg wanted to silence him so that those who are secretly being sent to fight with the fraternal Ukraine would be left the unknown soldiers and their mothers, children and citizens of Russia would learn nothing of what happened to them.

Lev Shlosberg wasn’t killed and seriously damaged by a lucky chance.

Lev Shlosberg is the main political rival of the temporary acting governor of the Pskov region Anderi Turchak who broke the law and intimidated the municipal deputies so that not to let Shlosberg register as candidate for governor of the Pskov region. Not a long time ago Turchuk called Shlosberg “the fifth column and a national traitor”. Lev Shlosberg gave a well-deserved and tough respond to it.

The insults on behalf of the officials, mean mobbing in mass media, attack on Lev Shlosberg, the similar incidents in St.Petersburg and the other cities of Russia,
heavy wounds given to Alexandr Skobov are the result of uncurb mass-scale lie and propaganda of hatred in the state and pro-government mass media which right in front our eyes turns into a criminal campaign on intimidation of opposition politicians, professional journalists, political activists, intellectuals, performing artists and just honest people who dare to have their own opinion on what is going on. This athourities quietly support this campaign for now. Its display which is by no means a criminal action is announced to be “public opinion”. The mobbing in mass media, intimidation and terror will become more severe as far as the war extends. We understand it.

We will do everything possible so that both those who committed crimes and ordered them whould be found and punished according to the law, the same way we did everything to find the murderers of YABLOKO members Larissa Yudina, Farid Babayev and still take measures to find murderers of Yuri Shchekochikhin. Yes, we haven’t finished the investigation yet but this will happen, we’ll never give it up.

From now on no matter what happens Turchak himself takes up responsibility for life and health of Lev Shlosberg as a deputy, journalist and Turchak’s rival and for Shlosberg’s family, colleagues and all members of the Pskov branch of YABLOKO. Thousands of people in Russia keep an eye on the activity and destiny of the politician and journalist Lev Shlosberg.

I wish Lev Shlosberg a speedy recovery and assure him of the support on behalf of the whole YABLOKO party.