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On Anti-Ecological Policies of the Russia’s Authorities

Resolution of the 15th congress of the YABLOKO party No 253
December 24, 2009

The Russian United Democratic Party YABLOKO regards the supreme goal of a democratic state as ensuring of flourishing of the country, the well-fare and the highest living standards for the citizens. One of the most important functions of the government is ensuring of ecological safety of the citizens and protection of nature as a national resource which is regarded as a public asset.


The political and economic system of modern Russia, its supreme political and economic administration grossly violates the principles of ecological policies determined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation: the rights of the citizens to a friendly environment, reliable information on its condition, recovering of the damage incurred in ecological violations, rational use and protection of natural resources and careful attitude to the natural riches that should be regarded as a foundation for life and performance of the citizens.


1. The policies of Boris Yeltsin – Vladimir Putin – Dmitry Medvedev created a system of underdeveloped periphery capitalism in Russia almost entirely basing on the maintenance and development of environmentally unfriendly productions left from the Soviet times. Neither the government nor business merging with the authorities pay any serious attention to the safe environment, as it is connected with reduction of their super profits. Consequently, Russia logically and inevitably has found itself on the periphery of rapidly developing innovative world.


1.1. Since mid 1990s the state-based and corporation-based machinery has begun representing the interests of a narrow group in power, as well as businesses connected with it, rather than those of the entire nation. Naturally such a state does not consider ecological interests be a priority neglecting them. Thus, “pollutioncrats” – those who are engaged in short-term welfare of the country at the expense of purposeful weakening of the mechanisms of protection of public ecological interests – are in power in Russia.


1.2. The authoritative political system and periphery economy together with the petrodollars have led in the past ten years to unprecedented wastefulness, corruption, and abolishing of moral principles by the society and the state.


Ecological problems have been purposefully ousted from the public consciousness. The ruling regime is interested in ecological fooling of the citizens, as when the citizens realise where anti-ecological polices of the authorities are leading to, environmental problems will become a factor of social protest which may develop into a political struggle, as in late 1980s.


1.3. Anti-ecological policies have been actively conducted in Russia, because the bulk of the profit of the commanding bureaucracy comes from exploitation of natural resources and environmentally unfriendly productions. The political system based on the merger of the state power and business is criminal in many aspects, for the health of the citizens inclusive; it is always anti-ecological.


2. The Russian United Democratic Party YABLOKO considers anti-ecological policies of Putin – Medvedev absolutely unacceptable.


We regard the following be a political crime:


- purposeful weakening of the whole bulk of the legislation on natural protection and natural resources (including the legislation on water, forest and land resources and city-building) for the so-called “raising of the investment attractiveness” and increased possibilities for corruption;
- virtual liquidation of the state ecological control (including liquidation of the Ministry for Natural Resources), laissez-faire as regards the predatory use of natural resources and poaching (also by top officials);
- passive attitude as regards rise of ecologically dependent morbidity and mortality (especially in the zones of ecological disasters);
- abolishment of practices of ecologisation of archaic industrial enterprises that are incapable of provision of environmental security and can not become an integral element for modernisation of Russia’s economy;
- purposeful negligence of fiscal measures encouraging provision of ecologically friendly environment around industrial enterprises;
- opening of borders for foreign radio-active waste and environmentally unfriendly productions exported from other countries;
- facilitating of liquidation of the city and countryside recreation zones and destruction of territories for recreation;
- support of the new “great construction projects” (Evenkiyskaya and other hydro electrical power stations, canals, oil and gas piping and roads destroying protected natural reserves) dangerously affecting nature and living conditions at vast territories for the benefit of the few;
- irreparable damage to the unique nature of the Western Caucasus due to hasty realization of the ambitious Sochi Olympic Games project;
- insufficient contribution of Russia to the international efforts undertaken to oppose dangerous anthropogenic changes on the planet.
3. Due to the implementation of anti-ecological policies today we have two classes of Russian citizens as of their life expectancy: representatives of the first class (enjoying access to high quality foods, living in favourable ecological conditions and having access to modern expensive healthcare services) will live over 80 years; whereas representatives of the second class will not see their pension age. The first class uses the health of the second as a basis for its welfare.
4. There emerged an autocratic political group which regards Russia as a country for deriving profit or simply as a place for short-term work. They are not interested in long-term efficient investments into environmentally friendly and high technologies, preservation and economical use of natural resources and raising of the living standards of the population. They are interested only in receiving maximum and quick profit.
5. There will come the time when those who purposefully adopted criminal anti-ecological decisions will bear at least political and moral responsibility for multiple ecologically conditioned diseases and death of millions of Russian citizens who died premature due to ecological reasons during 1997 – 2009.


6. The Russian United Democratic Party YABLOKO always considered protection of environment being one of its political priorities. We are for the democratic development of the country when new productions and use of natural resources will improve and not deteriorate the socio-ecological situation, outdated productions are subject to mandatory ecologisation, and petrodollars should be used as a means for transfer to innovational development rather than for the benefit of the ruling bureaucracy; we are for Russia that will be in stream and not in the periphery of the world development. This requires abrupt turn to ecologisation of Russia’s domestic policies and complex – political, economic and ecological – modernisation of the country.


6.1. The YABLOKO party considers the following measures be the first priority for ecologisation of Russia’s domestic policy:

- revision of legislation for abolishing of the raw-oriented trend in the economy and containing provision for protection and improvement of the health of the population and protection of nature, provision of environmental safety of the country and its citizens;
- increase of abruptly curbed for the past years expenditures on protection of nature to the figures allowing to provide efficient ecological control and monitoring;
- adoption of a state programme for ecologisation of archaic industrial enterprises deprived of the necessary purification and waste treatment facilities;
- restoration of an independent federal body in charge of protection of nature and not connected with the function of the use of natural resources;
- development of ecological education, returning of mandatory ecology course to the secondary school, abrupt increase of the number of ecological programmes on TV and other mass media;
- increase of the number of national reserves and nature parks;
- abrupt increase of fines for environmental pollution (in accordance with the “polluter pays” principle) and return of the state ecological funds;
- efficient protection of ecological constitutional rights of the citizens – the right to friendly environment, the right to information about ecological situation and the right to a compensation in case of ecological violations;
- development of public ecological movement;
- support of small and medium businesses connected with solution of socio-ecological problems;
- support of research and development in the field of environmental protection and efficient use of resources.


6.2. The YABLOKO party considers the following measures be urgent for Russia:
efficient support of the efforts of the world community for reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and Russia’s joining to the Aarhus convention [on the access to environmental information and public participation in environmental decision making] and other international conventions and treaties in the field of environmental protection;
support of the efforts of the world community for prevention of dangerous anthropogenic climate change.


7. We think that fundamental problems of ecology, environment, protection of health of the Russian citizens can be solved only be means of building of a modern democratic state in Russia with the real division of powers, honest elections, independent court and parliament and public control over the government. A sensible ecological policy would be impossible without solution of these key problems of political modernisation and decisive separation of business from the state. The aforementioned tasks are the key goals for our party.


8. The YABLOKO party states that if anti-ecological policies of the Russian government are not changes, we shall spare no effort so that to launch a mass-scale campaign for expressing non-confidence to the authorities.


***


Without political, economic and ecological modernisation of the country we shall become a generation which will definitely lose Russia!


The YABLOKO party will spare no effort so that to prevent this!


Sergei Mitrokhin,
Chairman of the YABLOKO party


See also:

YABLOKO for Environmental Safety


 

 

Resolution of the 15th congress of the YABLOKO party No 253
December 24, 2009