| By Brian Whitmore
I caught up with Yabloko founder Grigory Yavlinsky, who was
in Prague this week to participate in the Forum 2000 conference,
for a brief on-the-record chat.
We discussed a range of issues including Vladimir Putin's
decision to return to the presidency, the possibility of change
in Russia today, and how his strategy of working within the
system differs from Boris Nemtsov and other members of the
so-called "non-systemic opposition."
The Power Vertical: When you announced your
return to politics you said you said that this was one of
those moments when change was truly possible. That was before
United Russia held its congress on September 24 and Vladimir
Putin announced his intention to return to the presidency.
Do you still see a opportunity for change?
Grigory Yavlinsky: I see an even greater
opportunity. People now see that if there isn't a change things
will be just like they are now for another 25 years. People
want the situation to change. I think Putin's return and Putin's
[United Russia] congress showed people the necessity of change
even more than before. The reaction in society and in the
elite shows this. For example, after the congress the number
of people who want to work with me and with Yabloko rose sharply.
Even those who were more moderate or indifferent are now in
a different mood. They have been under pressure from these
conditions for such a long time. What does [Putin's return]
mean? It means the preservation of the previous style and
the previous agenda. It means the same faces on television.
It means everything will remain the same. People can't take
this anymore.
The Power Vertical: Do you agree with the
assessment of many observers that there is a risk that Russian
politics and society could enter into another so-called era
of stagnation as in the late 1970s and early 1980s?
Yavlinsky: There is already stagnation.
It isn't a risk. It's a reality. There is no dynamic in society.
There is no engine of development. Fatigue is rising in society.
Dissent is rising. Alienation is rising. Not only due to corruption,
the lack of human rights, the lack of property rights, but
also because everything has been the same for a long time
and this has caused alienation. Change is only possible if
there is an alternative. And right now is a moment when this
can happen.
The Power Vertical: And you believe that
Yabloko can be that alternative?
Yavlinsky: There is nobody else. Some like
me and some don't. But it is a fact of life that other than
Yabloko there is nobody else. Those who don't like what is
happening in Russia today are far greater in numbers than
my [traditional] electorate. But who else is there for them
[to voter for]? The Communists? [LDPR leader Vladimir] Zhirinovsky?
There's nobody else. [A Just Cause leader Sergei] Mironov?
Right Cause has already died.
The Power Vertical: You recently appeared
on the talk show Mnenie (Opinion) on Vesti-24. Things like
that don't happen by accident in Russia. There has been a
fair bit of speculation in the media that if you get into
the State Duma you are being set up to play the role that
Sergei Mironov once played or that Mikhail Prokhorov was meant
to play -- that of a nominal opposition figure who is loyal
and obedient to the regime. Is there any truth to this speculation?
Yavlinsky: I will be myself. I will be the
same as I have been for the past 20 years. Moreover, in order
to do something serious you need to appear not on Vesti-24,
but on Channel One or RTR for an interview. Vesti-24 isn't
a political channel. Sure, that was some kind of sign. They're
playing some kind of game. And as for those who are writing
in the press that I will play the role of Mironov, it is in
their interest to destroy the idea of some kind of alternative
[to the current authorities].
The Power Vertical: So you don't see yourself
becoming part of the so-called "systemic opposition"?
Yavlinsky: The real non-systemic opposition
is in the mountains of the Caucasus. [Opposition figures Vladimir]
Ryzhkov, [Mikhail] Kasyanov, [Boris] Nemtsov, [Garry] Kasparov,
[Eduard] Limonov, and all the others are the systemic opposition
as well. They pay their taxes they fulfill their civic obligations
participate in Russian politics in their own way. This suits
the authorities. Anybody who the authorities don't want to
tolerate is already not in Russia.
The Power Vertical: But these people, Nemtsov,
Ryzhkov, Kasparov, etc, they are very different from those
traditionally seen as the systemic opposition like Gennady
Zyuganov, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Sergei Mironov.
Yavlinsky: Sure, they are different in that
they speak differently. But they pay their taxes and this
finances the state, they finance Mr. Putin. So if they believe
in their strategy, let them follow their strategy. I don't
know whose strategy is more correct, mine or theirs. I only
know that there is a moment right now. And there is Yabloko's
strategy and there is Nemtsov's strategy.
The Power Vertical: But Nermtsov and the
others differ from you in that you are permitted to participate
in the elections while they are not. Their strategy, as you
called it, is born of necessity. They would participate if
they could, but the authorities would not register the Party
of People's Freedom (PARNAC).
Yavlinsky: If they want to participate,
then why are they criticizing me? If they were allowed to
participate then they would. This means they would like to
be part of the systemic opposition.
The Power Vertical: Do you see them as allies?
Yavlinsky: I see anybody who is fighting
for democracy in Russia as an ally.
See also:
The
original publication
Elections
to the State Duma 2011
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