Press release, 14.08.2017

Yabloko has collected over 70,000 signatures as part of The Time to Return Home campaign aimed at Russia’s withdrawal from military conflicts and allotment of federal budget funds to Russia’s domestic development.

Yabloko Deputy Chair Alexander Gnezdilov spoke about the campaign on air of the Ekho Moskvy radio station:

“A United Russia’s deputy from the Orenburg Region recently said that choosing between [allotting funds] to doctors’ salaries and the war in Syria he would choose the war in Syria. At the same time, collection of signatures for Russia’s withdrawal from Syria as part of The Time to Return Home campaign proves that people have a demand for another policy, for another treatment of a person (at the moment we have already collected 70,000 signatures – not only in Moscow, not only in St. Petersburg but, for instance, we collected 3,500 signatures in the Altai Territory, 2,000 signatures in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, over 1,000 signatures in the Orenburg Region itself),” Alexander Gnezdilov says, analysing the agenda, on which the potential presidential candidates will focus in 2018.

The Time to Return home is part of Grigory Yavlinsky’s presidential campaign of 2018.

Yabloko conducted the Time to Return Home campaign in the central streets and squares of 50 cities in 40 regions of the country. The collection of signatures still takes place in Moscow and on Yabloko’s website.

According to Yabloko’s research department, the total amount of Russia’s expenditure on the war in Syria may reach 140 billion roubles at the moment. The Government refuses to disclose the data under different excuses.

Yabloko claims that Russia must withdraw from the civil war in Syria immediately, allot federal budget funds to the development of Russsia’s economy, city infrastructure, education, healthcare and increase benefits and pensions.