Press Release, 22.07.2025

A third member of the Yabloko party has been deprived of freedom for his beliefs and needs support. The leader of Kamchatka Yabloko, Vladimir Yefimov, began serving a two-year sentence in the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky penal colony in the Far East as part of a criminal case on “discrediting the army”. The journalist, founder of the TVK television company – the first non-state television company in the USSR, as been imprisoned, but does not lose hope for a better future.

We are publishing a message that Vladimir Yefimov conveyed to members and supporters of Yabloko:

“Dear friends,

I would like to express my support and urge all of you to treat with kindness, sympathy and love those many hundreds of political prisoners who ended up behind bars, but did not betray their beliefs and ideals.

We are the party of peace. We are the only political and legal force in the country that steadfastly defends its principles and programme goals. Now is there is a reactionary period in our country. It is not easy for everyone, but this political darkness cannot continue indefinitely. The current freeze in the history of Russia will definitely be replaced by a thaw. Such are the objective laws of historical development. And we must maintain unity, and loyalty to our political principles. Hard days await us, the times will be hard.

Friends, I would like to appeal to everyone who is not indifferent, everyone who understands the injustice of everything that is happening in our beloved Russia. The best people of the country are in prison and under investigation. Political prisoners deserve your support and participation. Write to them, help them financially. Providing evidence of one’s innocence [with the help of lawyers] is, alas, expensive.

We will stand firm. We will definitely still have the opportunity openly speak about freedom, our ideals, not under the pressure of censorship, and be proud of those who are now in prison for ideas. The truth is on our side.”

The actions will be held in Yabloko’s regional branches all over Russia from 24 July through to 9 August. The list of the regional branches, addresses and dates are published here.

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Attention! Video recording and photography will be carried out at the actions. By taking part in the event, you agree that photographs and videos of your participation may be published on the party website, YouTube, social media, etc.