Press Release, 4.10.2019

Photo: Grigory Yavlinsky

On Thursday, October 3, an auction in support of political prisoners was held in the Moscow office of the Yabloko party. The main partner of the action was the portal delo212.ru of the initiative group Case 212, where you can find detailed information about the prisoners of the so-called “Moscow riots case” and transfer money to assist them. Journalists, politicians, actors, public figures, scientists, and even the defendants were selling their works at the auction.

Kirill Goncharov, Yabloko politician from Moscow, was the anchor of the auction. He reminded the audience that publicity was needed more than ever, since attention to criminal cases of the “Moscow riots” case by public opinion leaders could have a positive effect on the outcome of a court decision. Goncharov called the names of the defendants on the “Moscow riots” case, and stressed that Danil Beglets, Ivan Podkopaev, Yegor Zhukov, Yevgeny Kovalenko, Konstantin Kotov, Vladislav Sinitsa and Pavel Ustinov had already been sentenced to imprisonment or got suspended sentences.

Photo: Kirill Goncharov

Yevgeny Bunimovich, Yabloko MP in the Moscow City Duma and Honoured Teacher of Russia, could not attend in person, but recorded a video message. According to the Bunomovich, the society finally showed normal natural feelings standing up for the innocently convicted. “As a teacher, I feel personal responsibility,” said Bunimovich. “It is painful to watch how they are breaking the lives of the young people, because we taught them to be honest and that it is impossible to beat unarmed people, and now they are convicted because they were raised in such a way – they are held accountable for all of us, for the Russian literature, and the Russian intelligentsia. This auction is a small part of what can be done for them today”. Bunimovich submitted his autobiographical book “Choice” to the auction, the narrative of the book is dedicated to his first and victorious campaign to the Moscow City Duma in 1997.

Yabloko Chair Emilia Slabunova spoke about a systemic violation of human rights and freedoms in Russia. She offered a jar of honey to the auction explaining that a politician needs a lot of strength and energy for the fight.

Photo: Emilia Slabunova

Journalist and writer Viktor Shenderovich said that he had been voting for Yabloko when many of those present still went to primary school. His further speech was devoted to the case of blogger Vladislav Sinitsa, according to the journalist, this is an absolutely innocent person and his case requires close public attention. As a lot, he submitted a rare edition of a watercolor album with his essays Trolleybus No 22 and Other Stories. The book was published with illustrations by Irina Litmanovich, a student of Yuri Norshtein (a Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales). Two copies of the book by Viktor Shenderovich and Irina Litmanovich were bought immediately by two bidders for a record amount of 41,000 roubles each.

Photo: Viktor Shenderovich

Journalist Mikhail Fishman said that sometimes “it is possible to pull people out [of prisons], but not to change the system itself”. His lot was the last two issues of the Russian Newsweek magazine with autographs of editorial staff.

Photo: Kirill Goncharov, Mikhail Fishman

Politician Grigory Yavlinsky recalled that elections in Russia have been rigged for a long time, from about 1995-1996. According to Yavlinsky, it is quite obvious that it is not the people who went to the rallies who are guilty, but the criminals who hold power by any means. Basically, society had been watching election fraud without any emotions, but now people began to understand something, he said. “The seizure of power is a form of terrorism,” Yavlinsky stressed. In his opinion, the first elections with unpredictable results would mean the end of the current political system. He also recalled that electronic voting and voting machines were another way of falsifying elections. “Technologies falling into the hands of deceitful authorities are dangerous,” he emphasiыed. At the end of his speech, Grigory Yavlinsky said addressing the authorities, “We will not give you just our indignation. We will be engaged in real politics, and not just walk along the boulevards”. As a lot, the politician presented his new book on Russian politics The Putin System in English, published by Columbia University in February 2019.

Photo: Grigory Yavlisky

Journalist Ilya Azar sold a copy of the protocol on his detention in his flat in Moscow.

Photo: Ilya Azar

Actor Anatoly Bely sold two tickets for any performance at the Moscow Art Theater expressing his support to political prisoners.

One of the defendants in “Moscow riots” case programmer Aidar Gubaidullin presented his jacket, as he was detained in this very jacket, and he had this jacket with him in the pre-trial detention centre for a month and a half, and he had it on when he was released.

Photo: Aidar Gubaidullin

Deputy Chairman of Yabloko Nikolai Rybakov painted a picture specially for the auction: poppies growing on top of broken asphalt. He also expressed solidarity with political prisoners and urged people not to stop on actionism, and continue to support prisoners by all means.

Photo: Nikolai Rybakov

In addition, politician Vladimir Ryzhkov, writer Dmitry Bykov, director and producer Sergei Kachkin, Yabloko’s Viktor Kogan-Yasny and Yuri Shein, politician Vyacheslav Igrunov, actress Irina Vilkova, and dissident Viktor Bulgakov provided books for the auction.

Art critic Irina Yazykova auctioned a picture from Emilia Ratner’s personal collection “Moses in Front of the Unburnt Bush”.

The paintings by Andrei Bilzho, cartoonist Vyacheslav Shilov and many others were also sold at the auction.

Alexandra Krylenkova, one of the members of the Delo 212 initiative group, recollected rare but very valuable victories of human rights defenders. As a lot, she presented a box of apples (Yabloko means “apple” in Russian) with a letter from the freed prisoner Alexei Minyailo.

Photo: Alexandra Krylenkova, Aidar Gubaidullin and released Yabloko prisoner Valery Kostenok.