Decision by the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko, adopted on 21.11.2024, published on 27.11.2024

Photo by Yevgeny Razumny, Kommersant

The political mission and the objective of the Yabloko Party has always been the intention to form a modern, socially-oriented vector of development in Russia, based on human rights and freedoms, and democratic institutions. The party has always been notable for serious scientifically based analysis and strategic understanding of the situation both in Russia and in the world.

An important tool for implementing the practical objectives corresponding to this mission was participation in elections. Deputies from Yabloko, despite being in the opposition, have made and continue to make a professional liberal democratic contribution to legislative activity in Russia.

However, in the 2000s, there was a fundamental change in the external conditions for the party. As the authoritarian regime strengthened, increasingly developing into a totalitarian phase, Yabloko became an increasingly inconvenient political force for the authorities resulting in the actual ban on the party’s participation in elections at all levels, repressions against its members (administrative and criminal prosecution, including imprisonment on fabricated charges, labeling [party members] as a “foreign agent” and deprivation of civil rights, etc.).

The Federal Political Committee is certain that despite the actual absence of real elections in Russia at present, falsifications and manipulations, and absurd rules, our party should not refuse to participate in elections. Yabloko continues to participate in the current “electoral procedures”, understanding that even the remaining forms of election campaigning allow the party to promote its principled positions in society.

Election campaigning under the slogan “For Peace and Freedom” is of particular importance in the current conditions.

Along with the ongoing transformation of the Russian political regime from authoritarian to totalitarian, a part of society, primarily young educated residents of large cities, has a request for the formation of a different image of the country’s future. People want to look into the “tomorrow” of their own lives. As far as the events unfold in the special military operation zone, the number of such people is gradually increasing. The Yabloko Party can and should offer people answers and serious food for thought in contrast to the current propaganda and obscurantism, including on the Internet, and provide a field for practical action.

The Federal Political Committee considers it necessary to continue and expand targeted intellectual activity on key political and social topics that are important for the future of the country. Such work is possible in the form of conducting schools, video seminars, conferences, discussions, and round tables. Openness to analysis and discussion of political perspectives, turning the Yabloko party into a centre of intellectual activity will help create a growing community of potential supporters and voters around the Party, and will become a significant contribution to the development of today’s extremely weak civil society.

An important objective of the Party is to form a new intellectual, moral, ideological and political elite. The current elite has led the world to chaos and bloodshed – it is necessary to form a new Russian elite. For this, the Party has ideas, an idea of ​​the future, a reputation, a structure, personnel, traditions and, most importantly, citizens who have trusted us for many years.

Today, the key goal of the Party is to achieve a ceasefire. Informing people and conducting public awareness campaigns is especially important so that to advance towards strategic goals, gain the support of the majority of citizens in the future Russia and, on this basis, struggle for power. At the current stage, conducting public awareness campaigns should become one of the main meanings of the Party’s existence. Moving away from ochlocracy is one of the key objectives of the party.

Party members working in the intellectual sphere should, in the current conditions, refrain from wasting time on momentary trifles, or try to please everyone at once or, which is important, flirt with those who have not understood the historical lesson and continue to justify the deeply erroneous reforms of the 1990s that led to the current situation in Russia.

Prospective proposals will be formulated as a result of work in this direction, and they will be included in the programme for further, fundamentally new development of the country, with which the Party will go to the federal elections.

The Federal Political Committee proposes that the Federal Bureau of the Party develop, discuss with members of the Federal Political Committee and adopt an action plan for organising the meaningful work of the Party in the new conditions.

Grigory Yavlinsky,

Chairman of the Yabloko Federal Political Committee