Is
Modernisation in Russia Possible? Interview
with Grigory Yavlinsky and Boris Titov by Yury Pronko,
"The Real Time" programme, Radio Finam, May
12, 2010
Photo: Imprisoned journalist Nika Novak (left) and theatre director Yevgenia Berkovich (right) / Photo from Telegram channels
Anna Cherepanova, Deputy Chair of the Yabloko party and deputy of the Novgorod City Duma, is demanding that the rights of political prisoners Yevgenia Berkovich and Nika Novak be upheld. She has submitted formal parliamentary inquiries to the Human Rights Ombudsperson of the Russian Federation, Tatyana Moskalkova, as well as to the public prosecutor’s offices of Irkutsk (where Novak is held) and Kostroma (where Berkovich is held).
A letter to this effect was sent on 5 March. In the letter, Kirill Goncharov reminds the Moscow Mayor that Moscow is regarded as a modern and dynamically developing metropolis whose residents are noted for their high level of civic and political engagement. Nevertheless, “for the past four years Moscow has effectively operated under a ban on the exercise of citizens’ right to peaceful assembly,” the Moscow Yabloko leader notes. The formal basis for this ban is clause 2.6 of the most recent version of Mayoral Decree No. 68 of 8 June 2020, which prohibits all public events on account of the covid restrictions then in force in Moscow.
Photo: Screening of “And the Ship Sails On” / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
On 3 March, the Moscow office of the Yabloko party hosted the première of a documentary film by Yulia Mavrina, “And the Ship Sails On” — about Yuri Shchekochikhin, a legend of Russian journalism, a politician, and a member of the Yabloko faction in the State Duma (1995–2003). The screenplay was written by Nadezhda Azhgikhina, Yuri Shchekochikhin’s widow, writer and journalist.
Photo: Boris Vishnevsky / Photo by Konstantin Lenkov
On 4 March, the Second Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the St. Petersburg City Court, which last November deemed a collection of articles by Yabloko Deputy Chairman Boris Vishnevsky “extremist material”. The book “Chronicles of the Reborn Arkanar” was published eleven years ago.
Grigory Yavlinsky on political prisoners, the 95th anniversary of Mikhail Gorbachev’s birth, and the shared future of Russia and Europe
Zhivoi Gvozd YouTube channel, 2.03.2026
Watch the video on YouTube switching into English subtitles
Mikhail Gorbachev was born 95 years ago, a man who freed everyone in our country from fear and gave liberty not only to Soviet citizens but to many millions of people across Europe. How we made use of the real freedom he gave us is our own responsibility. Gorbachev achieved what no one before or after him was able to achieve: in six years in power, he brought about positive change not only in his own country but also exerted a promising influence on virtually the entire world.
On 28 February, Grigory Gribenko, Chairman of the Irkutsk regional branch of the Yabloko party, filed an administrative lawsuit in the Kirovsky District Court of Irkutsk against the city administration.
On 27 February, on the eleventh anniversary of Boris Nemtsov’s murder, members of the Moscow branch of the Yabloko party honoured the memory of the slain politician at the site of the tragedy – the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge near the Kremilin. Since the horrific crime, this bridge has been unofficially known as the “Nemtsov Bridge”.
Photo: Participants of the action of writing letters to political prisoners / Photo by Vyacheslav Radchenko
On 26 February, the Moscow Yabloko party held its traditional the action of writing letters to political prisoners, this time the event was dedicated to women political prisoners and timed to coincide with 8 March, Women’s Solidarity Day. Journalists, artists, human rights defenders, activists… mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and girlfriends – strong and courageous women – need support and letters from outside just as much as male political prisoners, noted the event’s organisers and guests.
Ivan Bolshakov, a member of Yabloko’s Federal Political Committee, head of the party’s Analytical Centre, and the party’s representative to the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation, received a response from Moscow Mayor’s Office to the Yabloko request to hold a rally in defence of Telegram in Moscow. The letter, signed by Andrei Zakharov, Deputy Head of the Moscow Department of Regional Security and Anti-Corruption, denied the rally due to COVID-19 restrictions in place in Moscow since 2020.
Irkutsk Yabloko leader Grigory Gribenko received a letter from Alexandra Yegorova, head of the Irkutsk Administration’s Department for the Implementation of Public Initiatives, effectively denying the permission to hold a rally in defense of Telegram and “For a Free Internet,” which the administration had issued earlier. The reason given was the excessive number of people wishing to participate.
Photo: Nikolai Rybakov laying flowers /Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Today, on the eleventh anniversary of the assassination of politician Boris Nemtsov, Yabloko party Chairman Nikolai Rybakov, along with Deputy Chairman Vladimir Dorokhov, Federal Political Committee member Ivan Bolshakov, and other Yabloko members, visited the site of the tragedy — the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge near the Kremlin — to honour the memory of the slain politician.
Photo: Maxim Kruglov before the court hearing on 26 February /Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
On 26 February, the Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow considered for the fourth time the investigator’s motion to extend the pre-trial detention of Maxim Kruglov, Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party. The investigation demanded that the politician remain in custody for “up to six months”, that is, until 2 April (counted from the date of his arrest on 2 October 2025). The case materials, however, indicate that Maxim Kruglov had allegedly conceived his “crime” (he is charged with spreading “fakes” about the Russian Armed Forces under Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code) as early as in 2020 — two years before the corresponding article appeared in the Criminal Code.
Photo: Vasily Neustroyev /Photo by Petersburg Observers
On 24 February, the prosecution requested a 12-year prison colony sentence and a fine of one million roubles for political prisoner Vasily Neustroyev, St. Petersburg Yabloko member, historian and elections observer, on charges of leading an “extremist organisation,” spreading “fakes about the army,” and “rehabilitating Nazism.” Today Vasily delivered his final statement in court. The full text of his speech is here.
Photo: Nikolai Rybakov speaking at the gathering on 24 February 2026 / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
On 24 February 2026, Yabloko’s Moscow office hosted a gathering of like-minded people entitled “Four Years After 24.02.2022”. Anyone who wished to attend was welcome to come to the party office, so as not to be alone on the anniversary of the start of the special military operation. The event included a screening of the film “Odna” (“Alone”) by Anna Artemyeva, a documentary filmmaker at Novaya Gazeta.
Photo: Graves of those killed in the course of the special military operation in Ukraine, in the military section of a cemetery on the southern outskirts of St. Petersburg / Photo by Artyom Priakhin, Kommersant
24 February 2026 marks four years since the start of the special military operation. The conflict has reached a profound deadlock from which there is no escape by military means. Yabloko is the only political force that had warned in advance of the consequences of the escalation.
On 24 February, the leader of Irkutsk Yabloko, Grigory Gribenko, and activist Pavel Kharitonenko met with representatives of the city administration and agreed to the relocation of the rally in defence of Telegram and “For a Free Internet!”.
Photo: Inside the Gulag History Museum / Photo by Ivan Vodopyanov, Kommersant
The Bureau of the Moscow branch of the Yabloko party considers the decision to effectively liquidate the exhibition of the Gulag History Museum and replace it with a new museum to be a mockery of the memory of the victims of political repression. This is stated in a statement by the Bureau of the Moscow branch of Yabloko, published on 20 February.
The Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Court has denied parole to Yabloko leader in Kamchatka, journalist Vladimir Yefimov, who is serving a sentence in a penal colony. The grounds for refusal were formal violations of the detention regime. First, during a walk Yefimov had removed his jacket, which displayed his full name and prisoner number; second, during an inspection of his cell, convoy officers found a deodorant which is prohibited under colony rules.
Photo: A postcard from the series “Freedom Is Within Us” by artist and former political prisoner Sasha Skochilenko
In accordance with established tradition, Yabloko’s actions of writing letters to political prisoners at the end of February and the beginning of March across the country will be dedicated to women political prisoners. Women – journalists, artists, human rights defenders, and activists, mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and friends, strong and courageous, they are no less in need of support and letters from the outside world than their male counterparts.
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Frank and honest public discourse on politics is rare today. It is difficult to speak about politics in times of chaos, and, moreover, it is dangerous: the risks of falling victim to repression, up to and including imprisonment or a staged “accident,” is very real.
