Е1.RU, 8.09.2023

Nikolai Rybakov, Chairman of the United Democratic Party Yabloko, visited Yekaterinburg on the eve of the elections to the City Duma. He came to support his fellow party members, talk about the strategy of peaceful change with which they are going to voters, and urge the residents of the city to take part in the elections. Read the interview and learn about why politics is a matter of concern for everyone now and how ordinary people can influence fundamental government decisions.

— Nikolai, please tell us about the purpose of your visit to Yekaterinburg. What would you like to tell the people in the Urals on the eve of the elections, what messages Yabloko would like to convey?

— For many years I have been traveling around Russia in August and September to support our election candidates in different regions. Today any election is more important than ever. We, politicians, regard them as opportunities for communication and honest conversations with voters. And for people, this is a chance to vote and support the platform of the party proposed for elections. Whether the state’s policy will change depends on the results of these elections. It is very important how people in one of the largest and one of the most significant cities in Russia will vote on the most important issue now: the issue of peace. There is a party that advocates peaceful changes – Yabloko. We are now participating in elections in 13 regions, and all our candidates are campaigning under the slogan “For Peace and Freedom”.

— You encourage citizens to go to the polls. How do you assess Yabloko’s chances in Yekaterinburg and why are people generally reluctant to go to the polls?

— Many people are prevented from going to the polls by believing that their votes decide nothing. But only a person himself/herself can answer the question of whether he/she decides something in his/her city and country or not, whether he/she can influence something or not. I came to a rally to protect a gardern in Yekaterinburg and saw how people defended what was dear to them. And I don’t understand why people can come out to defend a garden, but cannot come to the polls. After all, you have experience of victories, when society, united, was able to achieve something in their struggle against the authorities. You can move a little further [in the way of protection of your rights] than the garden. Now we are increasingly drifting away from the world, and in order to get closer to it, we need a political will, and it will be there when society starts talking about it – not in the kitchens or on social media, but peacefully, safely, legitimately and effectively – during elections. Putting a tick is the easiest way to say that a person agrees with the course towards peace that Yabloko has been talking about.

— Please, tell us more about your fellow party members who will participate in the elections in Yekaterinburg. What kind of people are they?

— In Yekaterinburg, Yabloko’s list includes 19 candidates, plus 25 people running in single-mandate constituencies. These are people of different generations and fields of work, but they all live and work in Yekaterinburg. These are scientists, students, local entrepreneurs who pay taxes to the state, feel responsible for their environment, and also want to influence the decisions made by the authorities. The leader of the list is Konstantin Kiselyov, a well-known politician in Yekaterinburg and in the country, a current Yekaterinburg City Duma deputy. We also have on our list Gray Boltachyov, Doctor of Sciences and a researcher at the Institute of Electrophysics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He knows firsthand what the education sector needs. We have many young people: Elizaveta Kazantseva, Polina Berezkina and others. They also want to live in their hometown, freely express their opinions and look into the future with confidence.

— What tasks and problems will your candidates solve here in the region?

— In Yekaterinburg we have a large programme of what to do at the city level. This includes education, the sphere of urban development, environment, healthcare and transport. When they say that everything have to be developed at once in the country, this is impossible. It is always a matter of priorities. We stand for investing finances in the intellectual, economic and human potential of the country, and the environment. And we want this to become the state’s priority for the future. All this will be possible to solve only if the current state of affairs changes.

— If the residents of the city come to the polls and support Yabloko, how do you see the further development of the situation?

— You see, the authorities will also look at the elections for the following: whether people will come to say that they want changes, or they won’t come, which means everyone is happy with everything. The election results may become a signal for the state that it is time to reconsider some of its decisions. Yabloko does not advocate revolutionary changes: in the history of Russia their cost for the people have always been very high. On the contrary, we propose to draw conclusions from the past lessons and choose the path of peaceful transformation, conduct dialogue with people, talk, openly discuss the problems that exist, and solve them together. Whether such a cultural and intellectual city as Yekaterinburg will support the course of Yabloko will become known in the elections.

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