Press Release, 26.02.2024

Photo: Anna Cherepanova / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

During the annual report of the Novgorod police chief Colonel Sergei Maksimov, in the Novgorod City Duma, the head of the Yabloko faction, Anna Cherepanova, expressed distrust in the actions of the police, listing episodes of pressure on Yabloko candidates and party members.

“Last year, the police illegally interfered in the activities of the Yabloko political party  persecuting Yabloko candidates for elections to the Novgorod City Duma: they conducted a search, confiscated campaign newspapers, and drew up administrative protocols of violation against five party members on trumped up reasons and grounds, so that to intimidate and force [Yabloko] to surrender. Meanwhile, the number of crimes in the city in 2023 increased by 20%. But if the forces and instruments of the law enforcement aim at pressing the only opposition party Yabloko, then they may not have enough force to fight crime,” Anna Cherepanova stressed.

In addition, Anna Cherepanova asked Colonel Maksimov on what basis and why the police collected passport data of citizens who on 16 – 17 February laid flowers at the monument to the victims of political repression, and also how the lists of “unreliable” citizens would be used. However, Konstantin Somov, the Speaker of the Novgorod City Duma, forbade police Colonel Sergei Maksimov to answer this question because it allegedly did not relate to the report of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for 2023, and Colonel Maksimov remained silent.

After Anna Cherepanova listed the episodes of pressure that the police put on Yabloko, the Speaker of the Novgorod City Duma expressed gratitude to the police chief “for everyday work without rest and weekends”.