YABLOKO Bureau decision, 05.02.2015
1. The European vector of development based on the values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and inviolability of private property has no alternative in Russia. The so called Vladimir Putin’s “Eurasian political course” towards Russia’s international isolation, conflict with the West and destabilisation of the former Soviet Union is against the national interests of our country and poses a threat to its integrity.

2. Bolshevism and Stalinism are misanthropic ideologies and practices as well as Fascism and National Socialism. As long as the state does not officially condemn the coup of 1917 -1918 (the seizure of power and the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly) and the crimes of Bolshevism and Stalinism, it won’t be possible to build the rule of law in Russia.

3. Nationalism in all its forms and manifestations as well as religious fundamentalism, are unacceptable both from the moral point of view and because they undermine the foundations of Russia’s statehood and Russia as a multi-ethnic country. Not only acts of violence, but also open manifestation of aggressive nationalism, such as the Russian Marches or other manifestations focusing primary on the rights of a certain nation or an ethnic group only or attach ethnic features to some problem or threat create the danger of escalation of ethnic and religious conflicts.

4. The transition from the authoritarian to the democratic regime can not be enforced, it should be implemented in constitutional way. Revolutionary upheavals are fraught with bloodshed and collapse of the country.

5. Urgent political reforms targeted at transfer from the rotten authoritarian system to the true separation of powers, real local self-governing, transparency of the legislative and the executive authorities and their accountability before people, and honest elections. All the repressive laws limiting human rights and liberties (proclaimed in Chapter 2 of the Russian Constitution) must be abolished, they are: the Dima Yakovlev’s law [or the “orphans law”], restriction of the right to protest, assigning the “foreign agents” status to NGOs, censorship in the mass media and social networks, etc. Reforms ensuring independent judiciary and depoliticisation of the security forces (whereas the latter should be put under parliamentary and public control), must be conducted. An important element of this process is the rejection of any filters and restrictions at the elections of heads of the executive authority and MPs of all levels. Moreover, all political prisoners must be released and [imprisonment of political opponents] should never happen again. All politically motivated criminal cases must be closed and decisions taken in connection with such cases must be reviewed.

6. Reforms targeted at complete separation of business from power, which merged due to the erroneous policies of 1990′s and 2000′s, must take place in Russia. The key tasks are fight against corruption, abolishing of support of large businesses from the state budget, and transition from the resource-based to the high-tech economy.

7.Militarisation of the country and economy at the expense of cutting budget expenditures on education and healthcare, as well as bureaucratic “pseudo-reforming” of science and research, must be abolished.

8. Russia must give up its provocative, leading to multiple victims, closed and ambiguous policies towards Ukraine, abolish military and political support of separatists and its reluctance to recognize Ukraine’s full-fledged international sovereignty, Russia must act by means of diplomacy involving the international community [into peaceful resolution of the conflict]. An international conference for crisis resolution is needed. The crisis resulted largely from unacceptable actions of the Russian authorities towards Ukraine and led to different consequences that literally the whole world will have to deal with for a long time.

9. The annexation of Crimea is unlawful as it contradicts both the international and the Russian law, the agreements signed by Russia and sets a precedent for similar actions towards Russia in the perspective. The solution of the problem of Crimea is possible only through a legitimate referendum under international supervision.

10. Broad anti-corruption investigation of the high officials who were or are at the key positions in the Government, Presidential Administration, law e