Press Release, 26.10.2023

Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

On 25 October, the 7th Yablokov Readings were held at the House of Journalists in St. Petersburg. The readings were dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of Alexei Yablokov (1933-2017), an outstanding scientist, ecologist, head of the Yabloko Green Russia faction, and public and political figure. In 2006, Alexei Yablokov, together with a large group of like-minded people, joined the Yabloko party and until his last day headed the Green Russia Faction of the Yabloko party, while remaining a recognised leader of the environmental movement in Russia.

The conference was attended by environmental scientists, activists, public figures, politicians and journalists. Chairman of the Federal Political Committee of the Yabloko party Grigory Yavlinsky addressed the participants of the conference.

Grigory Yavlinsky noted that Academician Yablokov was the rare scientist who understood politics. The greatness of Alexei Yablokov lies in the fact that he foresaw many events and gave them socio-political significance. In particular, the problem of climate warming was discussed by Acad. Yablokov as a political vector of ecology. “He took the first step to connect environmental policy with the policies pursued by the state,” Yavlinsky noted. “You and I are lucky that such a person as Acad. Yablokov did us honour by working with us.”

Photo: Grigory Yavlinsky (video) / Photo by Maxim Dynnikov

The topics for discussion at the conference were current global and Russian environmental problems, as well as the contribution of Acad. Yablokov to the creation and development of environmental policies in Russia and in the world. The conference included sessions dedicated to environmental “hot spots” on the map of Russia, climate problems and features of regional cooperation in the field of environmental safety.

Photo (from left to right): Tatyana Artemova, Yelena Akentyeva, Nikolai Rybakov, Anna Smirnova, Alexei Kokorin / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov made a report on environmental problems in Russian regions. Having visited almost all Russian regions in recent years, Rybakov gave an overview of the common problems that Russians continue to face: air and surface water pollution, worn-out infrastructure that cannot cope with emissions, and significant accumulated environmental damage. Among the systemic problems, Rybakov noted increased pressure on environmental NGOs, initiative groups and the media leading to weakening of public control and increase in corruption. In conclusion, Rybakov noted that the principle of saving people, the unconditional value of human life, should become decisive for all state policies in Russia – both in environmental issues and in matters of international relations.

Olga Tsepilova, Chair of the Green Russia faction of the Yabloko party and a senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, made a report on the creation and development of the environmental spectrum of civil society in Russia. She noted that the process of de-ecologicalisation of environmental policies. “However, actually existing environmental non-governmental organisations, the core of which was formed in the late 1980s – early 1990s, having suffered significant losses from the beginning of the 2000s to the present stage of development, taking into account the huge potential of previous years of development, have remained the strongest sector of the civil society. This is the greatest contribution of Alexei Yablokov to the development of civil society in Russia,” Olga Tsepilova noted.

Andrei Talevlin, a member of the Federal Bureau of Yabloko, Candidate of Legal Sciences, and an Associate Professor at Chelyabinsk State University, emphasised the need to use legal procedures in protecting human rights and freedoms, including the right to a favorable environment.

Vladimir Desyatov, a member of Yabloko, Executive Secretary of the Yablokov Readings, People’s Deputy of the USSR (1989-1991) and presidential envoy in the Khabarovsk Territory (1991-1993), made a report on the foundations of legal base for environmental protection in Russia laid by Acad.Yablokov.

Andrei Zolotkov, an expert in the field of nuclear and radiation safety, a Yabloko member from Murmansk, a people’s deputy of the USSR from the Murmansk region in 1990s, spoke about the period when, after the collapse of the USSR, Acad.Yablokov was invited by President Yeltsin as a presidential adviser on enironment and healthcare, and then headed the Commission on Environmental Safety in the Russian Security Council. Under his leadership, secret data was collected about the Soviet Union’s disposal of radioactive waste in the seas. Alexei Yablokov convinced President Yeltsin to declassify this data and publish it. This publication is known throughout the world as the “White Book”, or “The Yablokov Report”.

Dmitry Rybakov, head of the Yabloko faction in the Council of Deputies of Petrozavodsk, spoke about the practices of protecting environmental rights of citizens in the work of a deputy. Chair of the Volgograd Yabloko Galina Boldyreva made a report on the activities of the Ecology Club, which works on environmental education of citizens and the protection of environmental rights.

Photo: Dilbar Klado (via video call), widow of Acad.Yablokov / Photo by Maxim Dynnikov

A report on the implementation of the Yablokov of the Year series of events dedicated to the Acad. Yablokov’s anniversary was made by Dilbar Klado, widow of Alexei Yablokov, President of the Yablokov Foundation and a member of the Yabloko party. The events included a press conference “Chernobyl as a Monument to Human Madness” held at the office of the Yabloko party on the 37^th anniversary of the disaster on 26 April, 2023, and screening of the film “The Space of Chernobyl”; an evening in memory of Alexei Yablokov held on 3 October, Acad.Yablokov’s 90^th anniversary, where the documentary film “Yablokov” was shown.

The full programme of the Yablokov Readings is available here. The 7th conference Yablokov Readings was included in the series of commemorative events within the framework of Yablokov of the Year series. On 13 November, as part of the anniversary events, a conference and public forum “Alexei Yablokov Day” will be held at the Darwin Museum in Moscow.

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