Press Release, 10.12.2024

Photo: Ivan Bolshakov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Speaking at the Federal Council of Yabloko on 30 November 2024, Ivan Bolshakov, member of the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko, noted that Yabloko was facing a dilemma “either we act “here and now” or work for the future”. However, the position “here and now” cannot give a positive result. “Here and now” one can only go to prison, or become a “foreign agent”. According to Bolshakov, “it is unlikely that you will be able to win the elections or achieve a change of regime “here and now”.

Bolshakov noted that politics entered a new dimension in Russia; the state abandoned the principle of “everything that is not prohibited is permitted” in favour of the principle of “everything that is not permitted is prohibited”.

“The importance of a person as an individual is being lost. Disregard for life and human dignity has been growing. The key goal of politics is no longer the development of rights and opportunities for people, but political PR, manipulation of people and creation of a brutal image. Even intellectuals look at global conflicts with thousands of victims as a computer game. In these conditions, it is important to maintain rationality, sobriety of mind, and common sense. One of the definitions of politics is “getting things done”. It is about achieving goals, but there should always be values ​​behind the final goals – they show “how” to do things and “why”,” he said.

According to Bolshakov, Yabloko has been often criticised for calling for a ceasefire agreement from the point of view of some kind of battlefield situation that somehow never comes true. However, the special military operation has been changing the political system literally every day. Repressions are getting tougher, there is less freedom and pluralism, a sense of fear and suspicion has returned. The longer the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine lasts, the worse it gets in terms of political institutions and the atmosphere.

“In times of instability, you need to maintain your basis, but be flexible. Our basis is our values, the values ​​of freedom and justice, equal opportunities, democracy and human rights. Everything else is a format of work, these formats can be adapted to the circumstances,” Bolshakov said.

Speaking about the work in the new conditions Bolshakov noted the importance of participation in elections, as it could help to spread Yabloko liberal ideas and also preserve the legal opportunities for Yabloko to participate in the State Duma elections. “The struggle for power is persuasion. This is not a rally in the city centre, not tanks from Rostov to Moscow – such power will always be unstable and short-lived, not to mention the dangers and victims. We need to convince, we need to gather people  around us who have our view of the world and our values,” he stressed.

Bolshakov spoke about the generation change in Russia, emphasising that young people turn out to be the closest to the positions of Yabloko. But they do not always have a complete picture of the world, sometimes it is only a vague image. “We have to help them not to slide into radicalism in the desire to sweep away unpleasant reality. Hence the key direction for us is conducting public awareness campaigns and educating them politically. We need to turn our offices into centres of political, cultural and intellectual life of cities and regions. It is necessary to create working structures that will change the intellectual and political atmosphere in the country. Certainly, the resources of one party will never be enough to make a tectonic shift in public consciousness. Such work does not bear fruit immediately, it is greatly extended over time, but we have no other choice. This is a long game. In the end, only it can prove effective,” Bolshakov said.

According to Bolshakov, “This is the formation of the basis for future changes. We need to create an infrastructure that can be scaled up to all of Russia when the country has a chance for change. I am convinced that time is on our side, Vladimir Putin will not rule forever, and the current political system will sooner or later become democratised. Let me remind you that 250 years ago there was not a single democracy in the world, now there are 51% of democratic countries, and 49% are authoritarian. This is a shaky, but still a majority”.

“The “window of opportunity” will definitely open, and we need to become wiser and think strategically. If we can preserve the idea of ​​freedom and freethinking in Russia, this alone will be a major contribution to the future,” he stressed.