Voting in the State Duma On the adoption of the law "On the State Budget of the RF for 2004" (fourth reading), State Duma RF, November 28, 2003

Roll-call voting in the State Duma On the adoption of the law "On the State Budget of the RF for 2004" (fourth reading), Nov 28, 2003 11:20:31

Internet Resources in English
Editor: Henry E. Hale, RUSSIAN ELECTION WATCH, Vol.3, No.2, November 2003
While most parties have little or no information in English, Yabloko regularly translates party documents and press releases as well as campaign-related news stories it considers of interest to readers.

The Triumph of United Russia: It wins a pseudo-election
By Vitaly Voronin and Anfisa Voronina, Vedomosti, November 25, 2003
Grigory Yavlinsky, who heads the liberal Yabloko party, warned in St. Petersburg that the government is trying to create "a tamed Duma with an obedient majority.

Russia Pro - Government Party Seen Gaining
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, NYTimes, November 27, 2003
Grigory Yavlinsky, who heads the liberal Yabloko party, warned in St. Petersburg that the government is trying to create "a tamed Duma with an obedient majority.

Communists pull out of "Fair Election" agreement
RosBusinessConsulting, November 28, 2003
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is pulling out of the "Fair Election" agreement, which was signed in August by all political parties and blocs taking part in the election campaign (except the Yabloko party), Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov told reporters.

The Union of Right-Wing Forces Splitting Over YABLOKO
By Yaroslav Rodionov, Noviye Izvestia, November 24, 2003
...it appears that Chubais completely gave up on any idea of a union - and is now revising SPS strategy towards confrontation with YABLOKO. However, Nemtsov and Khakamada take the opposite view.

Brain Navigators
By Irina Nagornykh, Suzanna Farizova and Yuri Chernega, Kommersant-Vlast, November 17, 2003
According to Ivanenko, it is more difficult to carry out an election campaign for YABLOKO than for others, primarily owing to a lack of funding.

Is there a Country Budget or Cash under the Table?
By Alexei Savkin, Novaya Gazeta, November 24, 2003
Each year State Duma deputies take their first taste of the main dish of the Kremlin's cooks - the country’s budget. ...It looks as if parliament members do not care any more about what was cooked for them.

Pro-Kremlin Russian party boosts lead before vote
Reuters, November 25, 2003
The poll of 6,000 people in three Russian cities by the state-run VTsIOM agency put United Russia in the lead with 32.7 percent, ahead of the Communist Party on 14.3 percent. The elections are to be held on December 7.

Zhirinovsky Gets Into Fistfight After Televised Election Debate
The Moscow Times, November 24, 2003
Tensions rose on NTV's the "Freedom of Speech" talk show when Zhirinovsky, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, accused retired General Gennady Shpak of the leftist Homeland party of sending his own son to his death by allowing him to fight in Chechnya.

"Russian economic miracle. Will it ever happen?"
Anchor: Savvik Shuster, NTV channel, "Freedom of Speech" programme, November 21, 2003
Yavlinsky says Russia's people need a "strong state that serves its citizens" rather than the state based on "bandit capitalism" they have at present with no independent judiciary or legislature and no free media.

Yabloko for Environmental Safety - updated (materials on amendements to the Forestry Code added to the section)

Roll-call voting in the State Duma For the adoption of amendments into the Forestry Code of the Russian Federation (simplyfying the transfer of forests of the 1st category into non-forest categories). Third Reading.
November 21, 2003 16:04:10

Russia's democrats fall from influence
By Susan B. Glasser, Washington Post, November 19, 2003
Parliament would be left dominated by a pro-government party whose only campaign pledge is to stick close to President Vladimir Putin and a Communist Party consumed by nostalgia for the Soviet Union.

Russian politicians seek Zhirinovsky ban after brawl
By Andrei Shukshin, Reuters, November 23, 2003
"Decent people feel nothing but loathing and disgust for all this," Nemtsov, who had a glass of orange juice tossed in his face by Zhirinovsky in a mid-1990s debate, told Ekho Moskvy.

Are Mass Media Free in Russia?
By Vitali Tretyakov, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, November 19, 2003
First of all we need to specify one of the key notions - the matter under discussion here concerns freedom of the press (freedom to relate various facts and opinions in the media) and not freedom of speech.

Army Should Be Put Under Civil Control
By Andrei Makarov, Komsomolskaya Pravda, November 20, 2003
According to Deputy Head of the YABLOKO faction Alexei Arbatov, some tacit agreement has developed between the military departments, the executive and to a large extent the legislative authorities.

A Housing Koshman
Press release, November 19, 2003
Over 200 representatives from the Russian democratic Party YABLOKO protested on November 19, 2003 in the centre of Moscow against the policies conducted by the Russian government in the housing and utilities sector.

Igor Artemyev proposes the creation of a special state reserve of medicines
Press release, November 20, 2003
"It is highly likely that shortages in the provision of such medicines as insulin for patients could lead to the death of diabetics patients," said Igor Artemyev. "This is an absolutely inadmissible situation."

Tricks, Lies and Zyuganov's Head on a Bust
By Kevin O'Flynn, The Moscow Times, November 12, 2003
They're off. Four days into the official State Duma election season, the first low blow has been thrown in a campaign predicted to be chock-full of dirty tricks, fake candidates, bribery, blackmail, misinformation, lies and insults.

Bank Insurance Bill in Danger of New Delay
By Alex Fak, The Moscow Times, November 21, 2003
The deputies voted to retain state guarantees on all Sberbank deposits until 2007, not just on those accounts opened before the law comes into effect, as stipulated in an earlier version backed by the government and the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament.

Video of YABLOKO's action against the current version of the housing and utilities reform ("Housing Nightmare"). Moscow November 19, 2003. 5 min 06 sek 128 Kb/sek - 3,75 Mb, 256 Kb/sek - 8,36 Mb (RealPlayer required)

Funny Elections, Kremlin uses "administrative resource"
By Stanislav Menshikov, Moscow Tribune, November 21, 2003
Russian "democracy" has invented a new term to define an ancient practice. The term is "administrative resource" and it means using the government machine and its financial resources at all levels to gain advantage over the opposition in formally free elections.

Political Scientists Gather at Round Table at the Open Forum
Valery Kazakov and Sergei Zalesski, Argumenty i Fakty, November 19, 2003
Depending on the results of the Duma elections, a structure of the parliament will be formed that the president will have to deal with and that will serve as the basis for his policy", claims Ivanenko.

Who Devised the SPS "military doctrine"?
By Orkhan Dzemal, Novaya Gazeta, November 17, 2003
"...On the other hand, I do not rule out the possibility that some third force may be involved. We will see after the election who got whose votes."

Russian journalists to list would-be MPs according to their stance on media freedom
Rossiyskaya Gazeta, November 12, 2003
A long-forgotten word from the Soviet era was revived yesterday: nakaz or "wish list".

Before elections, Russians feel the cold
By Oliver Bullough, Reuters, November 17, 2003
Six-month-old Vika Vikhreva died of pneumonia after three freezing weeks in an unheated house.

Sergei Mitrokhin accused RAO "UES of Russia" of financing the SPS and intending to embroil the SPS and YABLOKO.
Rosbalt, November 4, 2003
According to Mitrokhin, fake candidates, former activists of "Yabloko Without Yavlinsky" movement are standing against YABLOKO in single-mandate electoral districts.

Financier's Institute in Moscow Is Raided
By Kim Murphy, Times Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, November 7, 2003
In the wake of U.S. financier George Soros' public defense of jailed Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Moscow offices of the Soros Foundation were raided early today by dozens of men equipped with camouflage gear and stun guns, who hauled away 15 years worth of documents and computer data.

SPS Attacks on YABLOKO attributed to Election Campaign
RIA-Novosti, November 13, 2003
"We shall continue cooperating with the SPS, for instance, we have appointed single-mandate candidates and engaged in active cooperation in the State Duma of this convocation and hope to continue it in the next State Duma," Ivanenko said.

On the seizure of the "Open Society" Institute
Statement of the YABLOKO faction in the State Duma, November 10, 2003
The YABLOKO faction expresses its indignation with the bandit-like attack on the Moscow representation of the "Open Society" Institute. Seizure of the building of the institute by force by dozens of armed people is an extraordinary event which cannot be explained within the legal framework.

Yabloko to participate in presidential elections
RIA-Novosti, November 5, 2003
The Yabloko party has decided to participate in the impending presidential elections in Russia, said Yabloko's leader Grigory Yavlinsky on Wednesday.

Russia's Democrats Face Prospect of Irrelevance
By Susan B. Glasser, Washington Post, November 14, 2003
A decade ago, Yavlinsky founded Yabloko as a vehicle meant to place the young economist in the presidency, with backing from the coalition of former dissidents, liberal intellectuals and other activists who had helped spur the Soviet collapse.

Yabloko sees Chubais as obstacle for merger with SPS
Gazeta.ru, November 5, 2003
"The main obstacle for the merger is the activity of Anatoly Chubais aimed at splitting the democratic forces," Mitrokhin said.

Yabloko confirms it received merger offer from SPS
Interfax, November 6, 2003
Yabloko is confident that democratic forces in Russia should consolidate and is considering a proposal to combine efforts that came from Anatoly Chubais, one of the leaders of the Union of Right-Wing Forces (SPS).

Responsible for the Constitution
Interview with Grigory Yavlinsky by Alexander Goltz, Yezhenedelnyi Zhurnal, November 4, 2003
"This is my country. I didn't choose where or when to be born. But since I'm here, I have to get as much done as I can. Then other people will come along to continue the work."

YABLOKO's Reply to Chubais
By Yana Serova, Novaya Gazeta, November 11, 2003
We do not refuse to unite because of personal antipathies. We refuse because we are different parties and 95% YABLOKO voters will never back Chubais and Kokh. They will merely vote with their feet.

Radio Mayak broadcast of a live election debate between Yabloko and the Constitutional Democrats
Anchor: Yuli Semyonov, BBC Monitoring, November 11, 2003
Ivanenko said that people should be more alert to what the parties actually do rather than listen to their promises.

YABLOKO defies Union of Right-Wing Forces Ultimatum
By Yelena Rudneva, Gazeta.ru, November 12, 2003
"95 per cent of our voters would never in their lives vote for Chubais and Kokh, but would instead give up and vote against everybody"

Bolshevik Revolution Anniversary Is Marked
By Tim Vickery, Associated Press, November 7, 2003
Hundreds of World War II veterans marched on Red Square, including what Russian media said were 130 who were retracing steps they took in a 1941 parade, when they marched straight from the shadow of the Kremlin walls to trains bound for the front.

Putin's problem: The Yukos case is bad for business, jobs and the economy
Editorial, Financial Times (UK), November 13, 2003
Meanwhile, the deputy public prosecutor delivered a grim message to the rest of the Russian business community. "Let those who are still at liberty think hard about what they are doing," said Vladimir Kolesnikov.

Wealth: wild card in Russian election
By Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, November 13, 2003
"Previously hidden conflicts have emerged into the open, and now there is a real issue to fight the election on: Will Russia slide back into a police state or turn decisively toward the European model of democracy and human rights."

Video. Meeting of the YABLOKO party for protection of democracy and against lawlessness and arbitrary rule. Moscow, November 7, 2003 19 min 45 sek 128 Kb/sek - 14,2 Mb, 256 Kb/sek - 31,8 Mb (RealPlayer required)

Russia Enters Election Season Split Over Future of Capitalism
By Peter Baker, Washington Post, November 8, 2003
On the anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, Russia formally opened its parliamentary election season Friday amid a vigorous debate about the future of capitalism in this country in transition.

Putin Rejects Revoking Yukos Licenses
By Peter Baker, Washington Post, November 6, 2003
"I have strong doubts that such actions would be appropriate," Putin added about the licensing threat.

Political Parties Have a Holiday
By Anatoly Medetsky, The Moscow Times, November 10, 2003
While Communist Party supporters marched, armed with red banners and slogans that included "Down With the Bourgeoisie," in Pushkin Square the liberal parties Union of Right Forces, or SPS, and Yabloko protested the jailing of Yukos boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Putin's Reign of Fear
By Vladimir Gusinsky, The Moscow Times, November 10, 2003
If the Russian elite does not overcome its fear, Putin will tighten the screws. The regime will be entrenched for years, even if someone else is in charge.

United Russia Party top election fund-raiser
RIA "OREANDA", November 3, 2003
The aggregate sum of election funds of parties and coalitions participating in the State Duma election amounts to 902,129,290.00 rubles, - Central Election Committee Chairman Alexander Veshnyakov said at a press conference on Friday.

Interview with Grigory Yavlinsky
Anchor - Vladimir Solovyov, NTV channel, "Apelsinoviy Sok" (Orange Juice) progamme, November 2, 2003
Yavlinsky: In our country, any political activities become complicated, if they are purposeful and serious. In Russia, many Stalinist methods of government are still in use.

Elite Change, Status Quo Unchanged
By Andrei Ryabov, The Moscow Times, November 6, 2003
The arrest of Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky has hastened serious changes in the balance of power within the Russian political establishment -- perhaps the most profound changes since Vladimir Putin became president.

Chubais Offers Yavlinsky a Merger
By Oksana Yablokova, The Moscow Times, November 6, 2003
"Both you and I see Russia's return to dictatorship as a catastrophe. This is the most weighty reason for the unification," the letter read.

Ministry of Nuclear Power Ready to Finance Environmental Programmes in Chelyabinsk Region
RIA "OREANDA", November 3, 2003
The deputy minister's letter is the Ministry's official response to Mitrokhin's appeal to the Ministry to allot money to move people away from nuclear-contaminated areas in Chelyabinsk region.

Ministry of Nuclear Power Ready to Finance Environmental Programs in Chelyabinsk Region
Press release, October 31, 2003
...the Ministry is willing to "discuss the draft specific environmental program aimed at rehabilitating the territories contaminated due to operations of Mayak plant, including evacuation of the residents of Muslyumovo and Tatarskaya Karabolka towns".

Putin's political rating remains high - poll
Interfax, November 2, 2003
VTSIOM-A polled 1,600 people in 40 regions and 100 populated areas on its own initiative from October 24 to 28.

'A creeping bureaucratic coup'
Stefan Wagstyl, Andrew Jack and Arkady Ostrovsky, Financial Times (UK), November 3, 2003
"We will see the growing role of bureaucracy, with more corruption and less pluralism. The new reality will be pretty tough: there will not be repression, but a creeping bureaucratic coup."

Liberal International Awards freedom Prize 2004 to Grigory Yavlinsky
Liberal International, News Release, October 25, 2003
"Liberal International's Freedom Prize is warded to those who fight for and promote the cause of human rights and liberal democracy. We are delighted to honour Grigory Yavlinsky with this prize in recognition of his work in these areas and his efforts to improve the quality of life for the peoples of Russia..."

Marshal law in the Wild East
By Michael Binyon in London, and Caroline McGregor and Simon Saradzhyan in Moscow, The Times ((UK), November 1, 2003
Why does the arrest of Russia's wealthiest magnate and the subsequent turmoil in its biggest oil company matter so much?

Public warms to tough stance
By Andrew Jack and Arkady Ostrovsky, Financial Times (UK), November 1, 2003
Most ordinary Russians applauded President Vladimir Putin's tough action against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the head of Yukos, but the media and political elite were more critical of the authority's actions.

Don't move or we'll shoot, Khodorkovsky was told
By Julius Strauss in Moscow, The Electronic Telegraph (UK), November 1, 2003
As Mr Khodorkovsky was being led away he must have known that it was dangerous even for a man who runs Russia's richest company and the world's fourth largest oil concern to cross the KGB men at the heart of the Kremlin.