Yabloko’s candidate for the presidency of Russia continues his campaign presenting his programme in different Russian regions

Press Release, 12.12.2017

Grigory Yavlinsky’s visit to Ekaterinburg began with a meeting with the oppositional Mayor of the city Yevgeny Roizman. The two politicians discussed the development of the city, the city budget, restructuring of the budget and the principle of federalism. “From my point of view, Yevgeny Roizman is one of the most qualified and professional politicians in Russia,” Grigory Yavlinsky said after the meeting.

After the meeting Yevgeny Roizman held a tour for Grigory Yavlinsky on the Museum of Naive Art. Roizman became the ideological inspirer of this museum, he has been collecting works of Ural artists throughout the region for many years.

Photo: Grigory Yavlinsky and Yevgeny Roizman

At a press conference in Interfax, Grigory Yavlinsky presented the economic section of his presidential programme to local journalists. Yavlinsky said that if Russia had a strong economy, there would be respect in the world, and most importantly, there would be no poverty. “Today, Russia is a poor country, with large-scale poverty,” he noted.

Grigory Yavlinsky also cited official statistics. In 2017, expenditures on medicine in the region dropped almost twofold: from 39.8 to 20.4 billion rubles. Since May 2012, the number of hospitals decreased by 14 per cent, and the number of hospital beds by 11 per cent. The situation with kindergartens and schools is similar: 74,000 schoolchildren are studying on the second shift, Grigory Yavlinsky noted. “If the economy of the region and the country is not corrected, these trends will intensify and continue,” he stressed.

The situation can be amended by changing the system of distribution of tax revenues between the federal centre, the regions and the municipalities. Each of the levels should receive 33 per cent of the tax revenue. Now most of the revenues go to the centre. “This is a senseless system, as it does not allow the regions to develop,” Yavlinsky said.

In addition, Yavlinsky proposed to change the priorities of the federal budget. Reduce the expenditure on the army, the law enforcement and state administration from 38 to 28 per cent, while the expenditure on healthcare and education should be raised from 7 to 14 per cent. Also, the presidential candidate proposed to optimise expenditures, as the state budget annually spends about 600 bln roubles on non-profile spendings of ministries and state corporations. According to Yavlinsky, the state budget annually lacks 300-400 bln roubles from state-owned companies that do not pay dividends to the state. There are also megaprojects in the regions, such as a stadium in St. Petersburg or a fountain in Grozny (Chechnya), which cost dozens of billions roubles.

Grigory Yavlinsky proposes a “tax revolution”, in particular a different distribution of the profit tax, VAT and personal income tax, between the centre, the regions and the municipalities (10 – 30 – 60, not 15 – 85 – 0, as it is now). Such a change is the fiscal policies may bring 50 bln rubles to Ekaterinburg’s city budget, Grigory Yavlinsky promised.

Answering journalists’ questions, Yavlinsky again explained why he decided to participate in the presidential campaign: “The goal of participation in the elections is to show an alternative and thus influence politics. Look, in summer we launched a large federal campaign “Time to Return Home” for Russia’s withdrawal from the war in Syria. Certainly, Putin can not withdraw troops, but yesterday he went there and said “it’s time to return home.” Certainly, the authorities can not change the budget system, as we propose, but yesterday [Chair of the upper chamber of the parliament] Valentina Matviyenko said that it was necessary to leave tax revenues in the regions. If dozens of millions of voters support changes in the country, they will happen. And also the truth and professionalism are not measured by the percentage announced by the Central Electoral Commission. ”

Yavlinsky also took part in the round table “The new budget policy and the Constitution of the Russian Federation”, as on 12 December the country celebrates the Day of the Constitution of Russia.

Grigory Yavlinsky noted that the key task was to make the Constitution function so that it would ensure federalism and democracy, and that Russia would become a truly socially oriented state where human rights and freedoms are strictly observed.

At the same time, Yavlinsky noted that changing of the Constitution might become “one of the major events” in the [Vladimir Putin] presidential campaign. Such ideas were discussed and, among other things, there were very radical proposals made, suggesting elimination of the federal system and creation of a mechanism for the irremovability of power (i.e. the State Council with a lifetime chairman). “The extreme point of view is to declare the denunciation of the Belovezh agreements [on the dissolution of the USSR],” said Grigory Yavlinsky. “I am very, very negative about these agreements, but this way will quickly lead to war.”