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Publications
December 29, 2009

Sergei Kovalev addresses the European Parliament after accepting the Sakharov Prize. Strasbourg, 16 December 2009

hro.org, December 18, 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Memorial organisation, I would like to thank the European Parliament for its high accolade – the Sakharov Prize.

We at Memorial see this award as relating not only to our organisation. We take the view that, through us, the prize is being bestowed on the whole human rights community in Russia, and indeed more widely – on the entire section of Russian civil society sympathetic towards defenders of human rights. For forty years now – first in the Soviet Union and then in Russia – human rights defenders have been standing up for ‘European’, that is to say, universal values. This struggle has never been easy; in recent years it has become tragic, as it increasingly claims the lives of the best, the most active and the most fearless.

I am sure that, in awarding the Sakharov Prize to the Memorial organisation, the European Parliament had them in mind, first and foremost – our dead friends, comrades-in-arms, kindred spirits. This prize belongs by right to them. And the first name I should cite is that of Natalya Estemirova, human rights defender and fellow member of Memorial, murdered this summer in Chechnya.

I cannot go on without mentioning other names too: the lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalists Anna Politkovskaya and Anastasia Baburova, murdered in Moscow, ethnologist Nikolai Girenko shot in St Petersburg, Farid Babayev, murdered in Dagestan, and many others – sadly, it is a list that could go on for a long time. I ask you to honour the memory of these people by standing.

December 17, 2009

Russian human rights activists get Andrei Sakharov Prize

Kommersant-Online, December 16, 2009

A solemn ceremony of awarding the Sakharov Prize took place at the session of the European Parliament in Strasburg on December 16. The laureates of the prize were Russian human rights activists Ludmila Alexeyeva, Sergei Kovalyov and Oleg Orlov. Human rights activists called the European legislators “not to turn a deaf ear” to Russian lawlessness, and President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek expressed his hope that the murderers of Anna Politkovskaya and Natalya Estemirova will be hold for court.

European legislators welcomed the laureates with a storm of applause. Sergei Kovalyov in his speech expressed his gratitude to the European Parliament for a warm welcome, and asked the audience to hold a minute of silence in memory of Natalya Estemirova, human rights activist from the Memorial human rights centre, killed in Chechnya in July 2009. “Europe should not keep silence when human rights are violated in Russia,” Kovalyov said. President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek in his turn expressed his hope that the prize will encourage human rights activists to continue their fight against lawlessness and protect the values that “we have been promoting – freedom and democracy”.

December 14, 2009

The Youth YABLOKO organisation in St.Petersburg conducted an action on the Constitution Day

zaks.ru, December 14, 2009

According to the zaks.ru correspondent, the Youth YABLOKO organisation in St.Petersburg conducted an action devoted to the Constitution Day. Today the activists decided to conduct a theatrical action.

One of the YABLOKO’s activists wearing a mask of RF President Dmitry Medvedev publicly introduced amendments into the articles of the Constitution written on placards.

December 10, 2009

Human rights activists Natalya Estemirova and Maksharip Aushev awarded medals post mortem

ombudsman.gov.ru, December 9, 2009

On December 8, 2009, the award ceremony of the Russian Ombudsman Medal “Hurry Up to Make Good Deeds” took place in Moscow. Human rights activists Natalya Estemirova and Maksharip Aushev awarded medals post mortem.

Both were members of the Expert Council with the Ombudsman of the Russian Federation. Natalya Estemirova had been investigating abdications of civilians, executions and tortures since the First Chechen War. She worked in the Memorial human rights centre. Maksharip Aushev actively engaged in the protection of human rights after his son and nephew abdicated in Grozny in 2007 had been released.

Yabloko continues to fight election results

Liberal International Newsletter, December 10, 2009

In Russia, LI Full Member Yabloko continues its battle against alleged widespread fraud during last month's local elections. The Russian liberal party has filed a suit for cancellation of the results of the voting at two electoral districts in the Moscow area. According to official data ruling party United Russia obtained 1,002 votes more in those districts, than indicated in the protocols given to the observers. At a recent bureau meeting of Yabloko, party leader Sergei Mitrokhin, commented on the flawed outcome of the recent elections and the consequences for democracy in Russia: “It has become clear after voting on October 11 that elections as a legitimate institution which could be trusted by society has been completely ruined in Russia. This means that the democratic project of the country's development initiated in the late 1980s has been completely closed now — and not only by the ruling elite, but by society as well.”

READ MORE

December 7, 2009

Environmentally unfriendly bulbs versus nuclear power stations?

Acad.Alexei Yablokov’s blog at the Echo Moskvi web-site

December 7, 2009

I was wondering why our government suddenly made a complete ban on incandescent electric bulbs its prime concern (Law of the RF No 261-FZ “On Energy Saving and Raising of Energy Efficiency and on Introduction of Changes into Some Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” of November 23, 2009).

And recently I have heard the news that Europe has been closing production of incandescent electric lamps of the first generation (luminescent, with mercury) – the very lamps that have to replace our incandescent electric bulbs. And these environmentally unfriendly productions are offered cheaply to those who would be eager to buy them. Let us make a simple calculation...

November 23, 2009

Meeting of the Council for Consolidation of Women’s Movement in YABLOKO

Press release, November 20, 2009

A meeting of the Council for Consolidation of Women’s Movement joining together a number of important interregional and nation-wide women’s organisations took place on November 19, 2009.

The meeting discussed the events to be conducted in the short term, where the Council and most of its members will take part.

The most important events are as follows:

- Round table discussion in the Public Chamber devoted to the 30th anniversary of the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (November 25);
- Conference of the Orthodox Women “Women’s Mission in the Spiritual and Moral Development of the Fatherland” with participation of the Patriarch of Russia (December 3-4, Moscow)...

November 19, 2009

The Constitutional Court makes removal of candidates from electoral lists more difficult for the parties

By Galina Mikhalyova, Executive Secretary of YABLOKO’s Political Committee
kommentarii.ru, November 14, 2009

The [Constitutional Court’s] decision will broaden the rights of members of our mostly authoritatively constructed parties only to a small extent… However, while it is allowed to have “locomotives” (Ed. well-known persons topping party election lists and bringing a large number of votes for the party and resigning right after the election), this decision will not be able to cardinally change the situation. The key problem lies not only in our legislation but also in the law enforcement practices. The laws on parties and on elections are abundant with excess regulations complicating performance for the parties, especially for the opposition parties, however, the laws lack a clear framework that would make the parties to abide by democratic procedures (e.g., a ban on dismissal and appointing of the governing bodies).

November 18, 2009

International Federation of Liberal Youth condemned elections fraud in Russia

Special for YABLOKO’s web-site by Ksenia Vakhrusheva, November 17, 2009

Alexander Gudimov, President of the St.Petersburg branch of the Youth YABLOKO and Ksenia Vakhrusheva, International Officer of the St.Petersburg branch of the Youth YABLOKO, took part in the annual General Assembly of the International Federation of Liberal Youth, held on 12-15 November in the Hague, the Netherlands. The GA joined together over130 young liberals from 35 countries, who are ready to stand for liberal values in there home countries and in the world, who shared their experience
The key points of the agenda were elections of the new executive board, voting for amendments to the Manifesto and resolutions... On the initiative of Youth Yabloko the General Assembly developed and adopted a resolution on condemning elections fraud in Russia. The resolution was approved by a majority.

November 17, 2009

The Liberal Opposition Under Authoritarianism

By Galina Mikhalyova, Executive Secretary of YABLOKO’s Political Committee
Special for YABLOKO’s web-site , November 17, 2009

The logics of the development of a "fake democracy," i.e. an authoritarian state with a formal presence of democratic institutions, relates to deconsolidation of democratic institutions and their delegitimisation in public opinion. Election results become predictable in general and are, in principle, not changeable. The ruling group creates a system of shielding mechanisms and includes a propaganda machine so that to strengthen its position. This results in reprisals of the people who represent real or potential (even insignificant) danger for the ruling system. To ensure compliance of representatives of the political and business elite, the authorities organize "staged" reprisals and create external and internal enemies to justify for such actions. Such actions are authorised by a state controlled judicial authority. At the same time, blocking legitimate ways of regime change leads to intensified latent conflicts and an increased pressure on a society and stimulates emergence of still very weak forms of resistance.

November 4, 2009

Aggressive nationalism endangers Russia

Statement by the Russian United Democratic Party YABLOKO, November 4, 2009

The 4th of November is officially announced the Day of National Unity in Russia. However, it is this day when the streets of Russian cities turn into arena for skin-heads, Nazis and racists provoking ethnic hatred. “Russian Marches” conducted on permission of local authorities and multiple unsanctioned nationalists’ actions will take place in 16 Russian cities.

According to the analytical centre SOVA, 50 people died and 280 people were wounded due to xenophobia since January 2009.

The YABLOKO party states that provoking of ethnic hatred, as well as assistance in the organisation of nationalists’ actions, is prone of very serious consequences, including shedding of blood and disintegration of the country.

November 3, 2009

Liberals discussed the world

Sergei Mitrokhin’s blog at the Echo Moskvi web-site, November 3, 2009

The 56th Congress of the Liberal International (LI) where I took part, finished its work on Saturday night in Cairo.

The congress adopted basic resolution World Today, which, in my view is a very interesting document. It provides liberal assessment of the situation in different countries and regions of the world.

In terms of examples:

The congress approved election of Barack Obama noting that he had won under the slogans of “active civil position, tolerance, dialogue, rights of individuals, freedom and democracy”.

[The congress also noted that] Honduras had been “going through a period of serious disturbances provoked by the violation of its Constitution by the President of the Republic”.

October 26, 2009

Five parties should have got places in the Moscow City Duma! The real election results.

Novaya Gazeta, October 24, 2009

Here comes information from the polling stations where Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin and [Mayor of Moscow] Yuri Luzhkov voted:

United Russia — 36,7%; CPRF —28,4%; YABLOKO — 14,9%; Just Russia — 9,2%; LDPR — 6%

What the electoral commissions shall do now?! Internet is full of gags and jokes and this is the evidence of the mental health of the nation. However, jokes end sooner of later. In the end Russia’s future is in stake. The stage of a saving sense of humour will end in a year or two. Then the people will either oust the bosses who lost their honour or vise versa this team will drive the people to a “stall”. The latter is more likely: such people never give up power voluntary, moreover with such a load of unlawful acts on their back...

EU prize highlights Russia murders of rights workers

euobserver.com, October 22, 2009

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Moscow-based NGO Memorial has walked away with the EU's 2009 Sakharov prize for freedom of thought after a bloody year for human rights activists in Russia.

"We hope to contribute to ending the circle of fear and violence surrounding human rights defenders in the Russian Federation," European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek said while announcing the decision on Thursday (22 October).

The Pole and former anti-Communist campaigner added that he felt "personal satisfaction" over the award as "a man who comes from Solidarity and who saw Poland fighting for truth and freedom, which it finally won in the 1980s."

Three Memorial staff, Oleg Orlov, Sergei Kovalev and Lyudmila Alexeyeva, will be invited to collect the prize, which comes with a ˆ50,000 cheque, at the EU parliament on 16 December.

READ MORE

October 23, 2009

Moscow’s Carousel Elections

The Moscow Times, October 23, 2009

By Sergei Mitrokhin
Sergei Mitrokhin, who served as a State Duma deputy from 1994 to 2003 and a Moscow City Duma deputy from 2005 to 2009, is chairman of the Yabloko party.

The level of falsifications in the Oct. 11 Moscow City Duma elections was unprecedented in modern Russian history. Officials did everything in their power to prevent opposition candidates from registering, and Yabloko was obstructed by local authorities and siloviki structures as early on as the signature collection stage.

On Oct. 10, the eve of the elections, almost every electoral district had run out of ballots. According to Yabloko representatives, the Strogino election committee handed out a total of only 149 ballots for the entire district. Instead, we witnessed the so-called “carousel” system ­ busloads of passengers who travel from district to district to cast their votes repeatedly.

READ MORE

October 16, 2009

Moscow Regional Elections saw multiple violations

Liberal International. Newsletter No 157, October 16, 2009

The Moscow City Duma elections that took place on 11 October saw multiple violations despite the reports of the Moscow Electoral Commission that “no grave violations” took place. Independent election observers and opposition parties noted the multiple violations such as ballot box stuffing and inhibiting access to polling stations. Sergei Mitrokhin, leader of LI member in Russia, YABLOKO, said: “Stemming from both direct and indirect data, we can say that YABLOKO obtained about 12% of the votes. Fraud took almost two thirds of our votes. Many YABLOKO voters found out that ‘someone' had already voted for them, and they were not allowed to vote. There was an Anti-election propaganda throughout the whole elections and no information on where to vote was available to the public. Russian President Medvedev described the elections as ‘well organized' and ‘in accordance with the law'.”

Read more:

LI Deputy President decorated by Indonesia
FNF hosts event on German elections
Moscow Regional Elections saw multiple violations
We need to power Canada on clean energy – say LPC’s Ignatieff
Argentine Senate passes controversial media bill
Graham Watson supports Taiwan’s bid to take part in UN agencies
Liberal Matters “The Global Economic Crisis” now online
Cairo Congress


October 12, 2009

An illustration of election fraud (Moscow City Duma election, October 11, 2009)

From the Live Journal of Igor Yakovlev, Press Secretary of the YABLOKO party, October 12, 2009

Electoral district No 1702, Danilovsky district, Moscow,

All who has seen election campaigns of the recent years mark an unbelievable scope of fraud at yesterday’s election (Moscow City Duma election on October 11, 2009).

Here comes only one example of election fraud...

United Russia simply “got” 550 additional votes from nowhere. 550 is a beautiful figure.

See the screenshots of the protocols below. The first screenshot represents the protocol of the Moscow Electoral Commission.

The second screenshot is the protocol obtained by the observer.


Violations at the Moscow City Duma elections

ELDR, European Liberal Democrats, October 12, 2009

... The BBC and other international media outlets reported about the concern that such violations of democratic principles happened also elsewhere across Russia.

ELDR supports the strong commitment of its democratic member parties Yabloko and the People’s Democratic Union in their strenuous resistance in defense of transparency and democracy in Russia.
ELDR commits itself for raising European awareness around the democratic character of elections in Russia in general, and in particular in the Moscow city Duma elections in order to examine closer the position of the Russian observers and the unclear results.

At the ELDR Congress in Barcelona on 19 and 20 November, European Liberal Democrats will discuss a resolution on the topic of citizen’s access to the electoral system in Russia.

read more at the ELDR web-site

October 9, 2009

Grigory Yavlinsky: Vote for the people you know, people you can turn for help

Grigory Yavlinsky’s interview to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, October 8, 2009

Grigory Yavlinsky has been keeping silent for 18 months. He neither gave interviews, nor made prognoses and assessments, however, he did not leave politics. Political scientists and journalists forecasted top posts for him and speculated about his contacts with President Medvedev, discussed prospects of his return to the post of YABLOKO’s leader. But he kept silent.Today MK publishes his first after a long period interview with Grigory Yavlinsky.

MK: A month and a half ago you met with President Medvedev. What were you talking about?

Yavlinsky: We discussed political problems, the economic crisis and the danger of social protests.

MK: And the President invited you so that to discuss their probability?

Yavlinsky: I began the discussion of the protests, as I think this very important. However, I think that the protest will not take shape of mass-scale actions. Now we may face disturbances at the VAZ [automobile] plant, but this is a special story. In fact people in Russia do not protest when they are in dire straits. This takes a different form in our country. Our protest is criminalization of behavioral patterns of the population on a mass-scale level. People do not hope to influence the authorities, and therefore they try to solve their problems as they can – in criminal ways.

MK: And what was President’s reaction in face of such prospects?

October 2, 2009

YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin sharply criticises the campaign launched by the Nashi movement against journalist Alexander Podrabinek

Interfax, October 1, 2009

Leader of the YABLOKO party Sergei Mitrokhin sharply criticized the actions of the Nashi movement against journalist and human rights activist Alexander Podrabinek.
“Mobbing of Alexander Podrabinek organized by the Nashi movement and accompanied by bullying calls that he should leave Russia is disgusting, and considering the present Russian situation is even dangerous,” Sergei Mitrokhin told Interfax on Thursday.
According to Mitrokhin, “a broad-scale hatred campaign was organised against a citizen of Russia.”

October 1, 2009

Putinjugend on the march

Alexei Melnikov’s blog at the Echo Moskvi web-site,

September 30, 2009

Those who consider the Nashi (Ours) youth movement and other divisions of Putinjugend being something like the Youth of Russia (Rossiya Molodaya) which resembles the pioneers organisation of the Soviet times or Hilterjugend or Chinese Red Guards are wrong. The aforementioned organisations in their classical period had their views and convictions, they were driven by the fire of the totalitarian ideology. Putinjugend does not have any views, they have only hypocrisy. This is the most flaring phenomenon for those who would like to single out the key feature of Russia’s authoritarian regime.
Here we can see its bare hypocrisy everywhere: from preposterous colours, actions, slogans and words. If the “successors” and all their system represent a parody of Soviet times, the Putinjugend is a double parody.
Yesterday they raged by the Estonian Embassy and today they put out posts by the flat of journalist Podrabinek chasing him, tomorrow they may run to the Poland’s mission to express their protest against comparing the communist and the Nazi symbols.

September 30, 2009

Sergei Filatov: I shall return democracy in electing head of the Tula administration

www.tsn-news.ru, September 30, 2009

September 29 was the expiration date for submitting documents to the post of the head of the Tula administration. Sergei Filatov, coordinator of the Tula regional branch of YABLOKO and deputy of the Tula City Duma, is one of the candidates for the post.

In his interview to the Tula Information Service agency Filatov told why he had adopted such a decision to run for the head of the city administration.

September 28, 2009

Sergei Mitrokhin: Success of the FDP represents a major break-through of the liberal movement

By Olga Demidova
www.dw-world.de, September 28, 2009

In his interview to the Deutsche Welle the leader of the Russian opposition party YABLOKO Sergei Mitrokhin congratulated a “sister liberal party” – the German FDP party - with their success at the parliamentary election on September 27. “I think this represents a major break-through of the liberal movement not only in Germany, but also worldwide,” he said.


September 22, 2009

Grigory Yavlinsky: no discords in the tandem

Grigory Yavlinsky’s interview to the Radio Liberty
www.svobodanews.ru
September 22, 2009

Radio Liberty: Many Russian politicians are enthusiastic about Barack Obama abolishing the plans of deployment of the elements of the American ABM system in Central Europe. Do you share such feelings?

Grigory Yavlinsky: No, I don’t, as these missiles and the decision of deployment of the ABM system adopted by President Bush did not threaten Russia in any way. It had a symbolic meaning. What Barack Obama did, was done because he was amending an error made by george Bush, rather than yielding to Russia, as President Bush’ decision was absolutely inefficient - technically, economically and strategically. He had enough courage to shelve the erroneous plan created by George Bush.

R.L: How do you assess the reaction of the Russian politicians who are speaking about this as of a large diplomatic victory of Moscow then?

G.Y.: As immature, it stirs pity. Such a reaction can not serve as a basis for further development of reasonable, earnest, and, if we further elaborate on this thought, grownup relationships with the developed countries. In general this is a trade-in approach – if you give something to me, then I give something to you, if you take away your missiles, we shall help you or will not help you somewhere in Iran – such an approach to the world politics is extremely primitive. Such approaches proved leading to deadlocks and inefficient, but, unfortunately they have been widely spread not only in Russia, but in the West too...

September 18, 2009

Corruptive-prone legal consciousness

Sergei Mitrokhin’s blog at the Echo Moskvi web-site,

September 18, 2009

Yesterday I made a speech at the State Duma hearings devoted to the problems of city building. The main idea of my speech was as follows: the notorious “vertical of power” is the main source of corruption today.

The modern state President Medvedev is dreaming about does not imply only the vertical of the executive power, it should also imply horizontal of control over the executive by the legislative and the judicial power.

When such a horizontal is lacking, we have an archaic and weak state, or a corrupt state, to put it shortly, instead of a modern and strong state. I told this to Dmitry Medvedev during our meeting on June 11.

The term “modern state” shifted from that discussion to the topic of the conference in Yaroslavl. The term shifted, however, the mechanisms of democratic governing I was speaking about did not.

September 16 , 2009

Here comes a nice “modern state”

Sergei Mitrokhin’s blog at the Echo Moskvi web-site,

September 15, 2009

...No fair elections, no division of powers, no freedom of manifestations, meetings, etc. And monopoly on power for one party. The conclusion was that we do not have democracy as a modern state system, and modernization of Russia’s economy (Dmitry Medvedev’s dream) is impossible without this in the 21 century. By the way, I told this to Dmitry Medvedev during our meeting on June 11.

As all the foreigners spoke about their theories at the section, I also could not help speaking about my theory. Here it comes in a nutshell. Belated modernization is prone of disintegration for countries with vast territories. The USSR lost a favourable moment for modernization as early as in 1970s (in contrast to China). That is why perestroika and the beginning of Boris Yetlsin governing represented stages of disintegration rather than its causes. A catastrophic governing may take place both in the democratic and the authoritarian governing.

September 15, 2009

Ex-head of a Moscow district to compete with human rights activist for the post
gzt.ru, September 15, 2009

Deputies of the Moscow City Duma asked a candidate to the post of Ombudsman to show his passport.

Yesterday’s meeting of the Moscow City Duma Commission on Staff Issues adopted a decision to develop and submit to the Moscow Duma in accordance with the Moscow law “On the Ombudsman in Moscow” two candidacies for the post of Moscow Ombudsman: city Mayor Yuri Luzhkov proposed ex-Prefect of the Central District of Moscow and ex-minister of the Moscow government for information and public affairs Alexander Muzikantsky, and the YABLOKO faction of the Moscow City Duma proposed member of the Bureau of the YABLOKO party, Chairman of the Board of the Social Partnership Foundation and renown human rights activist Valery Borschyov.

September 14, 2009

Youth YABLOKO of St.Petersburg commemorated five years since abolishing of gubernatorial elections in Russia

zaks.ru, September 14, 2009

Activists of the Youth YABLOKO organisation of St.Petersburg conducted an action to commemorate five years since abolishing of gubernatorial elections in Russia, writes Zaks.ru correspondent. Activists wearing masks of governors Valentina Matvienko, Yuri Luzhkov, Valery Serdyukov, President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and a mask of “Vladimir Medvedev” (a photoshop merging Vladimir Putin and Dmrity Medvedev) showed a theatrical performance.

September 7, 2009

The YABLOKO party: organisers of the murder of Galina Starovoitova may be found in resumed investigation

Interfax, September 7, 2009

The YABLOKO party states that the resumed investigation of the murder of Galina Starovoitova gives hopes that those who ordered this crime will be identified.

“We would like to hope for the better, and that there is political will in this case so that not to close the case when those who implemented the crime are found, but to find those who ordered the murder, maybe not the very top persons, but still those who ordered and organised the crime,” Mikhail Amosov, member of YABLOKO’s Political Committee told Interfax

September 2, 2009

Roar: Stalin divides Russians even in metro

Russia Today, September 2, 2009

By Sergei Borisov

An inscription praising Joseph Stalin at a refurbished metro station in Moscow has sparked a new controversy over the Soviet political and architectural heritage.

Passengers at the Kurskaya metro station, unveiled after the repairs, have been surprised recently to see it decorated with a powerful symbol of the past. A restored inscription contains a line from an old version of the Soviet national anthem...

Sergei Mitrokhin, leader of the liberal YABLOKO party called on the management of the Moscow metro to remove the inscription that “insults the memory of millions of victims of political repressions.”


August 24, 2009

Action in memory of Natalya Estemirova in St.Petersburg

zaks.ru, August 24, 2009

About two dozens of people gathered in Chernishevsky Garden in St.Petersburg on August 22 so that to pay tribute to the memory of Natasha Estemirova. It was the 39th day since Natasha’s death, which, according to the Muslim tradition, is a commemoration day.

August 18, 2009

Who will pay the repairs of Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro-electric power station?

Sergei Mitrokhin’s blog at the Echo Moskvi radio station web-site
August 18, 2009

All the technogenic disasters in all the countries have some common roots (natural calamities, human factor, etc), however, Russia’s disasters have some specific traits rooted in our policies.
This refers to abrupt and ill-conceived commercialisation of the spheres that had to be governed with professionalism and rational conservatism. Thus, for example, there was not a single professional power engineer in the RAO Unified Energy System of Russia board since 2002, the board had only specialists in financial flows.

July 27, 2009

The Electoral Commission attested YABLOKO's election lists for the Moscow City Duma election and the party can start collection of signatures

Interfax. July 27, 2009

The lists of candidates to the deputies of the Moscow City Duma submitted by the YABLOKO party to the Moscow Electoral Commission were attested and certified at the Commission meeting on Monday.YABLOKO's list of 49 candidates was approved by the party conference of the Moscow branch of YABLOKO on July 22. The list is topped by Moscow City Duma deputies Sergei Mitrokhin, YABLOKO's leader and Chair of the Moscow branch of YABLOKO, and Eugeni Bunimovich, Deputy Chair of the Moscow YABLOKO.

 

 

July 24, 2009

Women constitute 43% in the list of YABLOKO’s candidates to the Moscow City Duma

Galina Mikhalyova specially for YABLOKO's
web-site, July 24, 2009

Women constitute 43% (21 women out of 49 candidates) in the list of candidates to the Moscow City Duma approved by the conference of the Moscow branch of YABLOKO’s on July 22.

July 20, 2009

Estemirova must become a symbol of the European fight for freedom of expression

ELDR, July 20, 2009

The ELDR Party, deeply shocked by the murder of Natalya Estemirova, Russian journalist, award winning human rights activist, and moral successor of Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaia, urgently demands a comprehensive investigation into this criminal act which has its roots in censorship of information and lack of freedom in Russia.

July 13 , 2009

Yabloko leader meets with president Obama

Liberal International, Newsletter No 143, July 13, 2009
During the visit of US president Barack Obama to Russia this week, Sergei Mitorkhin, the leader of Russian LI Full Member party Yabloko had an opportunity to meet with the American president to speak about a variety of issues, primarily discussing cooperation in constructing a joint Russian-American anti-ballistic missile system (ABM).

July 10 , 2009

Enemy Around - A view on the present conspiracy theory by Boris Vishnevsky

Fontanka.ru, June 30, 2009
The Soviet Union collapsed due to “ecological horror stories” of 1980s that provoked “artificial schizophrenic attitudes”: thus, a fear of salmonellosis led to a situation when Soviet citizens stopped eating chicken and the corresponding ministry responsible for provision of poultry collapsed, and a “horror story” on nitrates filling vegetables grown in the USSR killed our agriculture. After this the country was crammed with US poultry and imported fruit and vegetables.

July 9 , 2009

Mitrokhin: Obama admits conflict-prone nature of the American ABM

ITAR TASS, July 8, 2009 00:09
US President Barack Obama admits that deployment of the US ABM system in Europe is prone of conflicts, said Sergei Mitrokhin, leader of the YABLOKO party, after today’s meeting of Barack Obama with the Russian oppositions.

July 6 , 2009

Grigory Yavlinsky, "It’s good that Barak Obama and Dmitry Medvedev have begun talking, however, I don’t think that they can reach any special agreements here”

Inopressa.ru after ABC.es, July 6, 2009
ABC.es, Spain, published an interview with economist and member of the liberal Yabloko party Grigory Yavlinsky.

July 3 , 2009

OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY THE EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL SESSION

RESOLUTION ON DIVIDED EUROPE REUNITED: PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES IN THE OSCE REGION IN THE 21st CENTURY

June 24 , 2009

A Credit for Half a Century

Interview with Grigory Yavlinsky by Natalia Bekhtereva, Radio Russia, June 15, 2009
On the threashold of a state holiday – the Day of Russia – President Medvedev met with representatives of non-parliamentary political parties – The Right Course, Patriots of Russia and YABLOKO. All these parties naturally have their own views of how Russia should develop further. The United Russian Democratic Party YABLOKO certainly has its own point of view here, YABLOKO’s founder professor Grigory Yavlinsky is our guest today.

November 2004

Supreme Court Begins Reviewing Election Annulment Case
MosNews, November 15, 2004

Sergei Ivanenko, who is the assistant head of Yabloko and a member of the 2008 Free Choice Committee, thinks that this trial is crucial for the future of Russia’s democracy. “The most important thing is for this trial to be a normal and lawful legal trial,” he said.

Governor's Son Eyes VTB Post
By Vladimir Kovalyev, The Moscow Times, November 15, 2004

"It is unlikely that the merging of the administration and business could be tied up so closely if it was outside the family circle," said Boris Vishnevsky, a Yabloko faction member in the Legislative Assembly.

Duma Gives the Nod to Party Bill
By Oksana Yablokova, The Moscow Times, November 11, 2004

The State Duma on Wednesday approved a Kremlin-backed bill requiring political parties to have 50,000 registered members, an increase from 10,000...
Yabloko says it has 85,000 members, while SPS claims about 35,000 members.

Putin Creates Civil Society Council
By Francesca Mereu, The Moscow Times, November 11, 2004

In an apparent attempt to boost Kremlin control over civil society, President Vladimir Putin has dissolved the Human Rights Commission and replaced it with the Council for Developing Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights.

Soldiers' Mothers To Form Party
By Oksana Yablokova, The St. Petersburg Times, November 9, 2004

After 15 years of assisting conscripts who suffer from hazing or wish to avoid compulsory military service, the respected Union of Soldiers' Mothers Committees is going into politics with the creation last weekend of the United People's Party of Soldiers' Mothers.

YABLOKO Mulls Alliance with Glazev
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, November 8, 2004

Yabloko deputy leader Sergei Mitrokhin told "Vremya novostei" on 5 November that Yabloko is to "hold broad-based talks with various groups, including Sergei Glazev's For a Decent Life" and "one of the future coalition's goals will be to participate in elections."

Yabloko Finds Itself at Crossroad
By Francesca Mereu, The St. Petersburg Times, November 2, 2004

"Our financial situation is extremely bad," Yabloko deputy leader Sergei Mitrokhin said in a recent interview in his office.
"There are a lot of businesses that are ready to help us because they believe in our policies, but they want us to get the Kremlin's approval for their financing," he said. "They are afraid of losing their businesses if they give money to a party that opposes the Kremlin."

500 Protesters Denounce Racism in St. Petersburg
By Vladimir Kovalyev, The Moscow Times, November 2, 2004
"We don't pay enough attention to the education of our people," Lukin told the rally Sunday on Sakharov Square. "The authorities don't pay enough attention to this issue. But it looks like a small avalanche is being formed that could snowball and destroy the government itself if it doesn't deal with the problem."

Ustinov: Detain Terrorists' Relatives
By Oksana Yablokova, The Moscow Times, November 1, 2004
Yabloko leader and former Deputy Grigory Yavlinsky warned in a statement that the proposal is an attempt to restore the Soviet prosecution system of the 1930s that effectively became the legal machine for Stalin's purges.

Duma Gives Nod to Putin's Governors Bill
By Oksana Yablokova, The Moscow Times, November 1, 2004
"I do not see why the governors become more efficient and less corrupt if they are appointed and not elected in a popular vote," said Sergei Popov, a member of the liberal Yabloko party and an independent deputy.

Russian Liberal Yavlinsky Awarded Prize for Freedom
MosNews, October 18, 2004 (Archive)
Yabloko head was nominated for the award by the faction Liberals, Democrats and Reformers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. This decision was made in October 2003 during a session of the Liberal International in Dakar, Senegal. The party had an observer status by the Liberal International since 1998, and became its full member in 2002.

Project Director: Vyacheslav Erohin e-mail: admin@yabloko.ru Director: Olga Radayeva, e-mail: english@yabloko.ru

Administrator: Vlad Smirnov, e-mail: vladislav.smirnov@yabloko.ru