Yabloko is a nation-wide public political organisation advocating liberal-democratic values. The association was established in 1994 and has 58 regional organisations.

The congress discussed the situation in Russia after the parliamentary and presidential elections, another stage of party reform and the creation of a coalition of democratic forces in Russia. The congress approved a new leadership structure in the association. The new structure will make it easier to react more rapidly to changes in the country. It clearly breaks down functions and responsibilities.

The Central Council, comprising 60 members from different regions of Russia, is the managing body of the association between congresses. The congress has toš elect the Chairman of the association. Grigory Yavlinsky, who is also leader of the Yabloko faction in the State Duma, was re-elected to this post.

The Central Council will elect the secretaries responsible for all key directions of the association: party building, work in the State Duma, elections, interaction with the authorities, ideology, information policy, public relations and general party projects. The Central Council will also elect a permanent political leadership committee - the Bureau of the Central Council.

In his report to the congress Yavlinsky expressed his concern that Russia was facing today the biggest threat in the past ten years: the potential creation of a police state. The thesis of a so-called "manageable democracy" has been disseminated in society: its formula has been discussed by the advisors to the new President of Russia. It can be summed up as follows: the Russian people do not understand what real democracy is and consequently cannot be expected to live according to rules that are prescribed in most other countries, as Russia is still in an embryonic state. According to this assumption, in the near future democratic institutions, the institutions of a civil society, cannot function independently and fully in Russia. Consequently they should be controlled or performed by the state.

Yavlinsky went on to stress that the path of a "manageable democracy" would have a hopeless and insurmountable negative pull on Russia, as a people that is not free and is manipulated cannot create a 21st century economy. The party, Yabloko, is convinced that the political system of Russia today should be based on
traditional European liberal and democratic principles, and will therefore be steadfast in its irreconcilable opposition to all manifestations of arbitrary rule by the authorities and by a police state.

It was repeatedly stressed during the congress that Yabloko has set itself the task in today's Russia of protecting political and economic human rights, which also include the right to private property and the right to objective and independent information. This work is key to the existence of a modern liberal-democratic party in Russia. The liberals in Russia should not tolerate a situation where it transpires that the destruction of Yeltsin's system is even more dangerous than the actual system.

The congress also backed Yabloko's position on the war in Chechnya. This position had been formulated nine months ago, when the anti-terrorist operation began to resemble a slaughter. To avert this development, both a political will and negotiations are required. Yabloko's congress also called on all political forces, which share liberal-democratic views, to participate in the creation of a liberal-democratic opposition.

This initiative was proposed by politicians and public figures who had supported Yavlinsky as presidential candidate during the presidential elections of 2000. It was noted that the first steps to the establishment of such a coalition had already been taken: the creation of the Coordination Council of the Yabloko and Union of Right-Wing Forces factions in the State Duma and the signing of an agreement between
Yabloko and the Union of Right Wing-Forces on pooling efforts to propose single candidates at elections to the regional authorities.

The congress also proposed the establishment of a joint Political Council of the coalition which would include five representatives from each organisation. Yabloko delegated to the joint Political Council deputies of the State Duma Vladimir Lukin, Alexei Arbatov, Sergei Ivanenko, Sergei Mitrokhin and the head of the Chelyabinsk regional organisation of Yabloko, Alexander Kuznetsov. Such coordination groups
would also be created at regional level.

The congress passed a decision to create a Committee of Civil Control over the Monitoring of Human Rights in the Regions, as well as a broad network of Yabloko public meeting points to provide practical assistance to citizens. A Public Council is to be established by Yabloko. It will include well-known and respected Russian public figures, and representatives of professional and public organisations. The Public Council will draft recommendations for Yabloko on all key public issues.