Press Release, 1.11.2022

Photo: Mariupol, July 2022 / Photo by Anatoly Zhdanov, Kommersant

The Federal Political Committee of the Yabloko party formulated the party’s position on what is happening during the “special military operation” and the challenges that the party is now facing.

THE PRIMARY GOAL IS TO END THE HOSTILITIES

Referendums and the annexation of the territories of the self-proclaimed the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, massive strikes on infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, announcement of partial mobilisation in Russia, represent a qualitatively new stage in the development of the tragic situation, which promises even more blood and destruction.

There are no grounds to believe that the end of the armed conflict is approaching, and this means death and suffering of people every day, and the escalation of the conflict is fraught with a nuclear war, and there will be no winners in this war. If the conflict turns into a prolonged military confrontation, this will only increase human casualties. In Russia, this will lead to an increase in national-fascist sentiments in the country, transfer of the economy to a military footing, further deterioration in the economic situation, significant decrease in the living standards and quality of life,  search for “internal enemies” and new political repressions.

YABLOKO IS AGAINST WAR

Over the three decades of post-Soviet Russia, Yabloko offered many times meaningful alternatives to the policies that brought our country to the current situation. We warned of the danger of war and fought against war — virtually alone.

In 2021, society did not make use of the elections and the opportunity to support the only anti-war party to stop the imminent war.

Now Yabloko’s the call of Yabloko to immediately stop hostilities not only fell on deaf ears, but was attacked from different sides, including those preferring to demand to continue the “war to a victorious end” from safe places. However, Yabloko’s offer to conclude a ceasefire agreement is the only alternative to a possible catastrophe.

At the same time, Yabloko demands an end to state propaganda of hatred and aggression, introduce a legislative ban on propaganda of nuclear war, and the abolish repressive laws on “fakes” and “discrediting”.

UNLEASHING OF THE ARMED CONFLICT WITH UKRAINE IS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF BUILDING AN AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEM IN RUSSIA

What is happening represents an inevitable consequence of the creation in the country of a political and economic system based on the legal nihilism of the Bolshevik type and the merger of power and property.

This authoritarian system of power lacks the mechanisms for prevention or correction of the mistakes of the person in the head of the state, and his personal complexes and fears get transformed into state decisions without taking into account and analysing possible consequences.

Creation of such a system would be impossible without abandoning the European, liberal-democratic dominant in the Russian opposition movement.

However, the same representatives of the post-Soviet intelligentsia campaigned for Boris Yeltsin in 1996, for Putin and the Chechen war in 1999-2000, and for “smart voting” in 2021 calling to vote for any parties, even pro-government parliamentary parties including communists-Stalinists, but the ruling United Russia, which led to the formation of the parliament banning the oldest human rights organisation Memorial and voting for the special military operation. Good-meaning people following the lead of the populists, virtually worked for evil – for the promotion of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and nationalists of Zakhar Prilepin (a writer who was a combatant in Donbass and boasted of killing people there), and justification of the very idea of ​​nationalism. This was one of the immediate causes of the war.

Yabloko does not shed the responsibility for what has happened: we developed and proposed alternatives to the dead-end policies, but failed to find enough strength and resources to implement them.

THE MISSION OF THE YABLOKO PARTY IN THE PRESENT CONDITIONS

The goal of the Yabloko party in the current tragic and unpredictable circumstances should be to develop and offer society a serious professionally developed strategy and political position based on an understanding of the lessons and mistakes of the past, and on an accurate and uncompromising assessment of the present of the country, which is aspiring to the future.

Today Yabloko foes not have its own media and influential allies who would promote the agenda we propose, but our party has a stance, knowledge and understanding of our country and a desire to make the life of its citizens qualitatively better. This gives us grounds to talk with the majority, rather than our traditional supporters only, and express the interests of the majority.

We are certain that the majority of Russian citizens, like Yabloko, want the individual to be the goal and the state to be the means. They want the state to exist only for the sake of preserving and implementing  human moral values. They want a life without fear and repression, they want freedom and justice.

We are certain that a better future for Russia is possible only in a united Europe, in a common European space based on the principles of the European Union, and together with its neighbours, primarily Ukraine and Belarus.

HOW YABLOKO SEES THE FUTURE OF RUSSIA

We will continue working on the concepts that are critically importnat for the future of Russia and Europe:

– the new Constitution;

– preparation of the convocation of the Constituent Assembly;

– economic reform and, above all, draft laws aimed at separating business from power, and radical demonopolisation;

– creation of a stable institution of mass-scale private property;

– improving living standards of people;

– a judicial reform aimed at creation of an independent judiciary;

– creation of an empowered and effective system of local self-government, which will be able to keep the country from disintegration;

– protection of citizens from the government’s use of modern technologies in order to control people and their lives, expand the boundaries and scope of persecution, total control and repression.

Everyone should have the key human freedom – the ability to choose. This is where the future for Russia and Yabloko is.