Press Release, 11.08.2021

Photo: Yelena Izotova/ Photo from the personal VKontakte page

The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Kazan, Tatarstn, appealed to the Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan with a claim asking to establish the involvement of Yelena Izotova, head of Yabloko’s Green Russia faction in Tatarstan and a candidate for the State Duma from Yabloko in the regional group No. 49, as well as in the Moskovsky single-mandate district, in the social movement “Navalny’s headquarters”, whose activities were recognised as extremist and banned on the territory of the Russian Federation. If on August 13 the court satisfies the claim of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Yelena Izotova will lose her registration in the elections.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office believes that Yelena Izotova, a representative of Yabloko and one of the leaders of the movement against the construction of an incineration plant near Osinovo,  “is a supporter of the “movement in support of Alexei Navalny” and “presumably, since 2019, has been a person involved” in the activities of the headquarters of the opposition politician recognised as extremist.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office ground their arguments on such facts, as, for example, Izotova “posting a publication about participation in observation at Navalny’s Kazan headquarters” in 2019, and then urged them to come to the headquarters to train election observers. The Public Prosecutor’s Office believes that Yelena Izotova’s demands for “the immediate release of Alexei Navalny and other persons,” as well as a proposal to sign a petition to terminate the criminal case against lawyer Ivan Pavlov (representing the interests of the FBK recognised as an extremist and foreign agent), prove her involvement in extremism.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office indicated that Yelena Izotova had called for people to come to the rally in Kazan on February 14, where the actions of law enforcement agencies to disperse uncoordinated rallies in support of Alexei Navalny were criticized. This rally was approved by the Kazan mayor’s office and was declared as a rally against “political repression”. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Yelena Izotova’s involvement in extremist activities may also be evidenced by her joint photo with Oleg Yemelyanov, the former coordinator of the Navalny’s headquarters in Kazan.

“I just do not agree with the current government. And on this basis, they are trying to prove my alleged involvement in the FBK, which was recognised as extremist,” Yelena Izotova says.

Ruslan Zinatullin, the leader of Yabloko in the Republic of Tatarstan, fears that on similar grounds the authorities will try to cancel registration of other Yabloko candidates. “This is a general trend. Earlier, Lev Shlosberg was removed from the elections in Moscow,” he recalled.

“Yelena had a chance to win in the constituency, as support for United Russia is falling. There is nothing in the lawsuit. Some stupid things were written there,” the Chairman of the Tatarstan branch of  Yabloko added.

In 2020, opponents of the construction of the incineration plant were nominated for elections to the deputies council of the Osinovsky settlement (it is planned to build a plant there) as self-nominated candidates and candidates for Yabloko. But the court removed 13 people from the elections, including Yelena Izotova, believing that the candidates used unlawful campaigning.

It should be noted that the Moscow City Court made a decision to cancel the registration of Lev Shlosberg as a candidate for State Duma in a single-mandate constituency on the administrative claim of Andrei Pangayev, a candidate for State Duma deputy in single-mandate constituency No. 207 from the Green Party.

On August 6, an administrative protocol was drawn up against Alexander Korovainy, a candidate for State Duma from Yabloko, for his deleted video in support of Alexei Navalny.

On August 7, the Rostov police disrupted a meeting with voters of Alexander Ryabchuk, a Yabloko candidate for the State Duma.

Candidates for deputies of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg faced difficulties during registration, including Boris Vishnevsky, Deputy Chairman of Yabloko.

Based on the Kommersant Volga-Ural publication:

https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4937499