Boris Vishnevsky: Yabloko has always advocated peace and saving people’s lives
Boris Vishnevsky’s blog post, 30.08.2022
Photo: Boris Vishnevsky / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
After Grigory Yavlinsky recalled, on 24 August, the priority steps proposed by the Yabloko party back in February to prevent deaths in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the need to conclude a ceasefire agreement, a stream of accusations fell upon Yabloko (mainly, from those people who left Russia) that the party “takes the same stance as Putin”.
As they say, the ceasefire is beneficial to Putin, and if so, Yabloko is subject to obstruction for calling for it.
The stance of Yabloko is well known and has been repeated many times: it is necessary to conclude a ceasefire agreement, exchange prisoners and the bodies of dead servicemen, and objectively investigate all reports of war crimes. But, first of all, [it is necessary] to stop killing of people, stop the bloodshed.
Speaking about the “same stance” is a lie.
At best, it is the result of delusion or misunderstanding of what has been happening, or indifference to the fact that the bloodshed continues.
At worst, and the “[head of Navany’s headquarters] Leonid Volkov case” refers to this [category], it is caused by the desire to destroy the only party of peace remaining in Russia.
The party that warned in the [parliamentary] elections in 2021 about the danger of the notorious Smart Voting project [Alexei Navalny team’s proposal to vote for anyone, including all the pro-government parties, but for the ruling United Russia, which led to the situation when Stalinists-communists and the “party of war” got even more mandates in the parliament than before and none of democrats managed to pass] – the political project of Leonid Volkov and his team. Today it is clear that it helped to form the State Duma, which votes unanimously for all repressive laws and supports Putin’s policies in every way. But it is precisely those who promoted this [Smart Voting] project who are now engaged in harassing Yabloko, a party that destroys the myth that there is no democratic opposition in Russia.
Today, Yabloko members, who, despite all the risks, stay in Russia, are being persecuted throughout the country, administrative and criminal cases are opened against them, and they are removed from elections on false “reasons”. This is connected precisely with the anti-war stance of the party, with the fact that Yabloko has always stood for peace and saving people’s lives.
Against this background, accusations of taking “the same stance with Putin” voiced by those who are in a safe distance look especially disgusting.
is Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko Party, member of the Yabloko Federal Political Committee and Bureau, and an MP of the Yabloko faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg
Posted: September 1st, 2022 under Elections, Foreign policy, Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Speech, Human Rights, Moscow Municipal Elections 2022, Political Parties, Regional and Local Elections, Regional and Local Elections 2022, Russia-Ukraine relations, State Duma Elections, State Duma Elections 2021, YABLOKO Against the Parties of Power, YABLOKO and Other Political Parties.