Press Release, 17.02.2026

Photo: A mentorship project meeting in Moscow / Photo by Moscow Yabloko

On 15 and 16 February, Moscow Yabloko held the first meetings of participants in the mentorship project, which the Moscow branch of the party had announced at the beginning of February. Within the first days of the project, dozens of people joined Yabloko, wishing to realise their ideas, find support from like-minded individuals and mentors.

The Moscow Yabloko mentorship project is aimed at integrating novice party members into the life and work of the regional branch. The goal of the project is to engage activists and create conditions in which their potential could be realised as effectively as possible. The programme consists of three workshops for groups from ten to fifteen participants per course.

Each participant was able to choose a convenient day — whether at the weekend or on a weekday — to meet with current Yabloko members, learn about the branch’s work in Moscow, the federal agenda, the party’s plans for 2026, and the opportunities available to activists.

The first mentorship meetings showed that Yabloko holds particular appeal for young people. Regardless of age, however, all participants came to the first meeting with ideas already formed and a clear sense of purpose: to find themselves in a community of like-minded people sharing the same values.

The Chair of the Moscow branch of the party, Kirill Goncharov, emphasised that all participants had arrived with specific proposals:

“Their initiatives concern the life in Moscow and the country — the development of urban infrastructure, civil society, the electoral system, education, healthcare, culture, and so on. This is but a small part of the topics that people have brought to the Yabloko office over the past two days. I am impressed, and so are my colleagues. During the introductions, we asked participants to introduce themselves and say a few words about who they are, and in every contribution, between the lines, one could hear a desire to build a responsible, safe, law-governed, and honest society. One participant said quite literally — ‘I have come to you for peace and freedom.'”

It should be noted that the sessions within the project are aimed, amongst other things, at holding discussions on the most pressing socio-political issues, presenting and defending one’s position in debates, and mapping out prospects for the self-realisation of candidates and supporters within the party.

In addition, Yabloko mentors will deliver a series of lectures and business simulations, and upon completing the course each participant will be able to choose an individual path of development and be assigned a personal mentor from among the party’s experienced members.