| Interview with Grigory Yavlinsky by Olga Zhermeleva
A shortened version
Grigory Yavlinsky: It happened so that YABLOKO is the only
democratic party on voting bulletins this time. For the first
time ever. The Kremlin has never permitted such correlation
of forces before. It has been always making sure that every
political party running in elections should have its spoiler.
It is not like this any more. This time the Kremlin failed
to do so. But YABLOKO is there. YABLOKO was founded 18 years
ago, it is a political party everybody knows. And everybody
knows that it is not an artificial structure. Some people
may dislike YABLOKO but even they admit that YABLOKO has never
told lies and has never stolen anything. That YABLOKO has
been steadfast to is principles and has been never been engaged
in disgraceful things in politics.
Question: What about Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Gennady Zyuganov?
Grigory Yavlinsky: They are integral parts of the system,
It is such a broad United Russia party. Lots of people are
dissatisfied with the policies promoted by Putin and Medvedev.
People can express their feelings only in the Internet. The
voting day of December 4 is going to offer them the only chance
in the following five years to express their true feelings
in reality, make it plain that they disagree.
There is no way to rig the outcome if the turnout at the
election is 70% or so. And here is another nuance. I know
of people in local electoral commissions who openly admit
that they will not be engaged in fraud any way. They say that
they are fed up with all of that. And most of them are teachers
and can not say one thing to children at day time, and sit
at night falsifying bulletins.
Question: What scope of fraud do you expect on December
4? What measures if any has YABLOKO taken to prevent fraud?
Grigory Yavlinsky: It all depends on the turnout. Fraud
will be insignificant if the turnout is large and vice versa.
The authorities expect that a few people will come to the
polling stations. But will have thousands of volunteer observers.
Only in Moscow we have 1,500 volunteers as of today. And it
is also important that the local electoral commissions do
not to participate in fraud any more. They can burst the situation.
Voting for anyone but the ruling United Russia will play
into the hands of Zyuganov and Zhirinovsky and objectively
into the hands of United Russia that really comprises the
ideologies of both the Communists and the LDPR. United Russia
as such lacks an ideology of its own. Its ideology is an incomprehensible
mixture of what Zyuganov and Zhirinovsky promote.
Question: How has the perception of the ruling party changed
in the country?
Grigory Yavlinsky: Corruption and lawlessness reached such
a scope that the gap between the society and the state became
only broader. And in Russia revolutions and coups detat happen
exactly when the gap between the society and the state becomes
deep, not during wars or famine or epidemics. Such was the
case in 1917 and 1991. A disruption and a disaster. And not
one comes into the streets to protest when the state disappears.
And then a republic emerges on the place of an empire. And
everyone is happy. And then the republic is taken over by
bandits who set a dictatorship for 80 years.
Question: And is radicalisation of the views and a new coup
detat possible today?
Grigory Yavlinsky: No, there will be no coup detats. A
collapse is more likely. The regime cannot help getting weaker.
When a wall is falling down you can try and prop it, but when
all the bricks are falling down it can not be helped.
Question: VTSIOM polls claim that 39% of Russian citizens
expect a new impetus in the development from Putin's new term
of office. What do you expect?
Grigory Yavlinsky: I do not have such expectations. As for
these 39%... it's not surprising at all that they pin their
hopes on Putin. They do not have any alternative.
Putin established a system that is centred around him and
focused on him, and people see it. When he is not in the system,
the system will fall apart because it is thoroughly personified.
So Putin's comeback is absolutely logical within the system
that cannot survive without him. In any event, these 39%
of Russians you mentioned are in for a major disappointment.
Their hopes will be frustrated.
Question: Some commentators say that the regime might be
interested in having a new party in the Duma. It had to be
the Right Cause first, but this project sadly failed and the
regime focused its attention on YABLOKO. Do you agree with
this? Has YABLOKO felt any attention from the authorties?
Will there be a fifth party in the State Duma?
Grigory Yavlinsky: Vote for the fifth party, and it will
be in the Duma. YABLOKO has been ousted from the mass media
for the past eight years, unable to say anything. Do you really
think that it is possible to change that over a few weeks?
No way. And the authorities know it.
Vladimir Pozner [a popular TV commentator] once asked me
what was in the way of Russia's development. I told him that
the policies of Putin and Medvedev did and that was the end
of my interview. And the end of TV interviews for me at all.
Question: Do you expect to be in the next Duma?
Grigory Yavlinsky: Again, it depends on the turnout. If
enough Russians turn up at the polling stations, we will certainly
get 10-12%. And many respected people voiced their support
to us. We need an alliance with the population. Moreover YABLOKO
is a political party that evolved from grassroots and a coalition
of three parties in the first place.
It began once as an alliance of the Republicans, Social
Democrats, and Christian Democrats. Some new forced joined
YABLOKO over the past decade - environmentalists headed by
Academician
Alexei Yablokov, Svetlana Kuznetsova, head of the Soldiers
Mothers faction, Anatoly Leirich from the Business Russia.
If we manage to form a faction in the next Duma, we will then
think about organising
primaries so as to nominate a candidate for presidential elections.
Some opposition leaders and activists keep saying that the
election ought to be boycotted. That's a mistake.
Question: Boris Nemtsov said that he had 60,000 people with
him.
Grigory Yavlinsky: Good for him. Let him come to us then,
we will organise a joint congress. If Nemtsov really has 60,000
supporters, he will become chairman of the party. Unfortunately,
all of that seems to be just talking.
However, the main thing that we have managed to do now is
that YABLOKO offers everyone an alternative.
See also:
The
original interview
Elections
to the State Duma 2011
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