Statement by Yabloko Bureau, 01.04.2017

On 30-31 March, there appeared information on political protest actions calling the citizens “to risk their freedom and even life”. They say that “there is no alternative”. Such calls is a dangerous provocation which will turn out into bloodshed, loss of life and deterioration of the living conditions in Russia.

The initiators of such calls mislead the citizens claiming that Russia’s problems can be solved by a force-based, revolutionary method. It is very dangerous and not new. This is not the first time when the political forces in the Russian opposition face a key crossroads: either hard and consistent work within the framework of evolutionary and peaceful development or provoking the authorities to use force.

The Yabloko party has spoken on this issue many times. We know it for sure that violence is not the way to solve the problems in the state, therefore such methods of operation are unacceptable for us. Using force under today’s conditions in Russia always aggravates the situation. Only radials and extremists, who, as a rule, do not fight for changing the system but against certain personalities, get temporary benefit from it.

The Yabloko party sets serious, historically significant goals for itself and the country: changing the deadlock system, creating a state which will become a continuation of the civil society, solving such issues as inviolability of private property and formation of a mass-scale propriety class, creating a decent level of life for people. We are responsible for doing it peacefully and lawfully without wrecking other peoples’ lives.

We have seen it all – the readiness to provocations and instigation, foul play with people’s life and health, sacrificing them to one or another political goal and even lofty ideals – in the beginning of the 20th century. We remember the outcome: discord, chaos, the collapse of the state, the coup and the fratricidal civil war.

The Bureau claims that any participation of the party members in provocations, which may lead to bloodshed and political terror, is unacceptable.

The Bureau emphasizes that the Yabloko party is a force which stands for the political solution of the current problems. A politician’s duty is to protect the life, health and freedom of people. A responsible politician has the right to risk only one person’s life – his own.

Emilia Slabunova, Yabloko Chair