Press Release, 7.04.2025

Photo: Yelena Tulina  / Photo by the Novgorod branch of Yabloko

The rally participants unanimously voted for the resolution in defence of Yelena Tulina, a Yabloko member and teacher of Russian language and literature. The rally called for an immediate end to the pressure on Tulina, expressed no confidence in the Head of the Novgorod Region Alexander Dementyev and proposed to build a new school in the village of Trubichino.

The Novgorod Yabloko thanks all its friends, residents of Novgorod, Trubichino and St. Petersburger for their support. Yabloko notes that many of those who promised to participate failed to come to the rally, and attributes this to the fact that people are intimidated, and fear of the consequences for themselves and their children if they participate in the rally.

“We live in an atmosphere of fear, but the support of those who came out and wrote publicly on social networks about it is all the more valuable,” the Novgorod Yabloko writes.

It should be noted that the Yabloko party in the Novgorod region is protesting against the repression and persecution organised by the head of the Novgorod district Alexander Dementyev and the Chair of the Novgorod region Education Committee Natalia Kokareva against teacher and Yabloko municipal deputy Yelena Tulina with the aim of forcing her to leave the Yabloko party. Yabloko notes that the authorities have already used anonymous denunciations, inspections, surveys of children, and created an atmosphere of mistrust in the school.

Pressure on a teacher for her political beliefs is unacceptable; this is an open and gross violation of constitutional rights. The officials guilty of such violation must be punished.