YABLOKO's Congress. Sergei Mitrokhin about priorities for the YABLOKO faction in the State Duma

Press Release, September 10, 2011

The 16th Congress of the YABLOKO party began its work in the Moscow region.

YABLOKO’s congress started with a minute of silence in view of air accident taking the lives of the players of the Locomotive team.

YABLOKO’s Chairman Sergei Mitrokhin opened the congress. In his report Mitrokhin gave assessment to the present Russia’s political and economic system and marked the priorities of the work of the faction in the State Duma. According to Mitrokhin, Russia had become a hostage of inefficient state and inefficient economic system.

“YABLOKO is a responsible political force, that is why it will participate in the coming elections to the Russian parliament,” he said.

According to Mitrokhin YABLOKO’s goal at the coming elections is formation of its faction in the State Duma.

“Only YABLOKO due to the specifics of its ideology and programme can challenge the monopoly of corrupted bureaucracy merged with business,” Mitrokhin stressed. He also noted that this monopoly is supported not only by the ruling United Russia, but also by other factions of the parliament proclaiming themselves as the “opposition”...

Sergei Mitrokhin’s book "Russia Needs Changes" was launched at the Moscow Book Fair

Press Release, September 8, 2011

Presentation of the new book by YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin was held at the International Book Fair in Moscow on September 8, 2011. The book entitled "Russia Needs Changes" presents his vision of the situation in the country and contains proposals how to change it.

The book consists of three parts: "What is Happening to Russia?", "What kind of Russia We Need?" and "How to Change Russia?".

"Russia’s assets have been stolen," such an assessment Mitrokhin gives to the current political regime. "While the heads of the state and the ruling party have been trying to show that they care Russia's future and talks about the need to modernize Russia, a large army of bureaucrats and businessmen associated with these bureaucrats have been continuing getting their profit [from the federal assets]," Mitrokhin wrote.

Sergei Mitrokhin proposes to build "a modern state of the European type" in Russia. This state should be governed by law, be socially-oriented, democratic, should eliminate corruption, and protect the environment. People capitalism should replace the present oligarchic capitalism, Mitrokhin wrote. The society in such a state will be able to defend its interests and control the authorities...

Grigory Yavlinsky presented programme “Land-Housing-Roads”

Press Release, September 7, 2011

...According to Yavlinsky, huge public demand in housing representing Russia’s specifics when satisfied can lead the country out of stagnation. This envisages gratuitous and mass-scale transfer of federal lands to the citizens under their housing construction and development of infrastructure (water, gas and electricity supply), as well as construction of roads at the expense of the federal budget, i.e. the reserves accumulated for the recent years due to high oil and gas prices. The programme stipulates that about 14 million of families should get about 130 sq m of housing and a plot of land (for free) up to 3,000 sq m in the European part of Russia and up to 6,000 sq m in the Asian part. The programme also envisages foundation of special state crediting institutions for provision of long-term loans (up to 50 years) to families for housing construction under low interest rates...

Launch of a new book by Grigory Yavlinsky

Press Release, September 6, 2011

Tomorrow, on September 7, a new book by Grigory Yavlinsky, founder of the YABLOKO party and member of YABLOKO’s Political Committee, will be launched at the Moscow International Book Fair.

“The Federal Programme “Land-Housing-Roads” described in the new book proposes a way out of the economic deadlock Russia finds itself for the second time in its recent history.

A simple and realistic programme for getting the country out of stagnation, improving the living standards and development of Russia’s economy is described in the book in such a detail that is easy to comprehend not only to experts but to ordinary readers too. Virtually the book is a detailed guidance for the Russian government and if implemented, this will allow Russia to get a steady top position in the world economy already in 10-15 years.”

The launch will begin at 13:30
All-Russia Exhibition Centre, Pavilion No 75, Hall A (Reception Hall F5).

Mitrokhin to Medvedev: “Modernise Duma through fair elections”
LI News Bulletin, Issue 248, September 2, 2011

Leader of LI Full member Yabloko, Sergei Mitrokhin has during a rare meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev called for a thorough modernisation of the Russian parliament. During the meeting for all registered parties, Mitrokhin stated that the “forthcoming elections represent an opportunity to implement Russian modernisation plans”, voiced by the President earlier. “Political modernisation first of all means provision of equal possibilities for political competition. And this should take place during elections,” Mitrokhin stressed. “Today the State Duma with dominance of one political party is the most powerful anti-modernisation factor… As it is this party which controls the parliament, it cannot protect the society from bureaucrats' arbitrary rule and corruption. Therefore a corrupted system based on the laws adopted by bureaucracy and for the sake of bureaucracy has been built in the country, via the State Duma”, he added...

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President Medvedev promised to study YABLOKO’s programme “Land-Housing-Roads”

Press Release, August 30, 2011

...“From the economic point of view, the programme is targeted at creation of conditions for unprecedented growth of domestic demand,” Mitrokhin said. This envisages gratuitous and mass-scale transfer of [federal] lands to the citizens under their housing construction and development of infrastructure (water, gas and electricity supply), as well as construction of roads at the expense of the federal budget, i.e. the reserves accumulated for the recent years due to high oil and gas prices.

“The effect from this programme can not be overestimated from both social and political aspects. A possibility to obtain a plot of land free of charge from the state, e.g. 50 hundred square meters of land and built 150 square meters of housing there for half of its cost, - this will constitute a real breakthrough from Russia’s economic stagnation,” he added. Mitrokhin also noted that, according to the estimates of party experts, implementation of such a programme will create at least 10 mln additional jobs and will ensure economic growth by at least 3.5 percentage points...

Sergei Mitrokhin proposed to the Russian President to modernise the Russian parliament

Press Release, August 29, 2011

...Sergei Mitrokhin began his speech saying that the “forthcoming elections represent an opportunity to implement Russian modernisation plans” voiced by the President earlier. “Political modernisation first of all means provision of equal possibilities for political competition. And this should take place during elections,” Mitrokhin stressed. According to YABLOKO’s leader, “today the State Duma with dominance of one political party is the most powerful anti-modernisation factor”. Mitrokhin also stated that this party represents the interests of bureaucracy and large business connected with the latter. “As it is this party which controls the parliament, it can not protect the society from bureaucrats’ arbitrary rule and corruption. Therefore a corrupted system based on the laws adopted by bureaucracy and for the sake of bureaucracy via the State Duma has been built in the country,” Mitrokhin said...

YABLOKO’s leader to visit Novosibirsk

Press Release, July 19, 2011

Tomorrow on July 20, 2011, YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin will visit Novosibirsk. The trip is connected with reorganization of the Novosibirsk regional branch of the party. Mitrokhin will meet with the regional party activists and then will give a press conference in the House of Journalists (address: Soviytskaya 6, the press conference will begin at 12:00).
One of the issues that Mitrokhin is going to propose is creation of the innovation centre (at present established in Skolkovo, Moscow region). Mitrokhin says that this decision of the government is erroneous and proposes to use Novosibirsk and its Akademgorodok (Academicians’ City, science and research Russia’s city with dozens of research centres) for this purpose.
“Novosibirsk can offer much better conditions for creation of an efficient national innovation centre. However, a system of measures for support of science and research, higher education and innovative businesses is required,” he noted...

YABLOKO forwarded its proposals to the Strategic Initiatives Agency

Press Release, June 29, 2011

The YABLOKO party forwarded to the Russian Government its proposals and initiatives via the Strategic Initiatives Agency. The Strategic Initiatives Agency was created by the Russian Government in May 2011. It is targeted at support of socially important projects and initiatives.

The proposals are connected with the new strategy of Russian economic polices, local self-government reform and reduction of tariffs in the housing and utilities sector. The drafts were submitted by Valery Goryachev, Executive Secretary of YABLOKO’s Bureau. “We are going to use all the possibilities for implementation of our projects,” Goryachev said...

YABLOKO proposed to Presidential Commission its programme for Russia’s modernisation

Press Release, June 28, 2011

On June 28, 2011, a round table of the consultative working group of the Commission under the President of Russian Federation for modernisation and technological development of Russia’s economy was held in the Moscow region...

Four political parties presented their views of modernisation and the task of innovative development there. Ivan Bolshakov, member of YABLOKO’s Federal Council, made a speech about YABLOKO’s view of modernisation and the factors hampering this process and also answered journalists’ questions. It turned out that Bolshakov was the only representative of a political party who criticized the present Russia’s political system and called to its modernisation.

“Conducting modernisation via technological stimulation of Russia’s economy is obviously inefficient, this should include institutional transformation of the whole system, including political, economic, social and socio-cultural spheres,” Bolshakov stressed. “If this does not happen, we shall be left with the archaic authoritarian political system which puts Russia in line with backward countries and failing states,” he added...

“Politicians saying that we should adopt the Chinese model of development are either naïve or dishonest”

The Epoch Times, May 10, 2011

Grigory Yavlinsky is a politician recognised and respected by the world democratic community. He is a regular participant of the meetings of the International Crisis Committee, the World Economic Forum, the Trilateral Commission, etc.

Grigory Yavlinsky has been one of the initiators of nomination of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. We began our conversation with discussion of this event.

QUESTION: Grigory Alexeyevich, when you decided to nominate Chinese dissident for the [Nobel Peace] Prize, did you think about that the reaction in the world would be controversial?..

Lies and legitimacy
The founder of the Yabloko Party analyses the political situation. Article by Grigory Yavlinsky on radio Svoboda.

This year marks the 20th anniversary since Russia emerged from the ruins of the USSR. Peaceful rejection of the previous totalitarian system represented a historical achievement of global proportions. At the time society was clearly ready for change and the construction of a new life based on respect for the individual, democratic principles and a free competitive economy. Today we understand that this potential has not been realized. These dreams have not come true...

...The people are organizing their lives outside the state. The people are taking flight, as they believe the state to be alien, and naturally not to offer them any support. At critical moments in the past (such as in 1917 and 1991) this led to the state’s disappearance...

Yavlinsky warns of a new revolution in Russia and proposes to call a Constituent Assembly

Interfax, April 7, 2011.

...Assessing the current situation in Russia, Yavlinsky stated that "the present Russian political regime, which emerged after 1991 and shaped during in the past decade, has failed to create a modern state resulting in an ongoing and steadily deepening and insurmountable gap between the government and people, the state and the society."

"I think that the situation which has developed by the spring of 2011, begins threatening the very existence of Russia. The government has been losing the remnants of formal democratic legitimacy [which is demonstrated by their] systematic election fraud. People do not vote for the United Russia not because they do not support this party, but because people do not care about it, and because it is a normal thing [to abstain from voting]," runs Yavlinsky’s article...

Video of Grigory Yavlinsky's lecture for Skolkovo students

Grigory Yavlinsky, famous Russian politician and economist met with SKOLKOVO’s students. Mr Yavlinsky was as a guest speaker at the MBA practical module, devoted to the projects in social and government sectors.

On the danger of revolutionary moods in Russia
Statement by YABLOKO’s Political Committee. March 26, 2011.

Dramatic political events have been taking place in the world, North Africa and the Middle East in the recent months. Sudan split into two parts as a result of 20 years of a bloody war. Unprecedented for the Arab world democratic revolution won in Tunisia. Resulting from a further spread of public disturbances, one of the long living authoritarian regimes - the regime of President Hosni Mubarak – collapsed in the neighbouring Egypt. Demonstrations of protest have been continuously erupting in the neighbouring North African and the Gulf states: Algeria, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Oman and Djibouti...

Bourgoisie against Oligarchy
How to build a modern democracy in Russia (a complete version). Novaya Gazeta, January 20, 2011.
By Sergei Mitrokhin, Chairman of the YABLOKO party.

...Russia’s "special way" goes past the stage of historical development, which is in charge of forming of the great triad of Western modernisation: the bourgeoisie – civil society - the rule of law.

The bourgeoisie more than any other social groups has been interested in the establishment of such fundamental principles of the modern Western society as equality of all before law, individual freedom, freedom of entrepreneurship, etc., that created the conditions for a huge leap in the development made by the Western world...

Expert Council on Economic Reform established by the New Economic Association begins work. Grigory Yavlinsky elected chair of the Expert Council

By Yuri Shein, special for the web-site, December 16, 2010

The New Economic Association (NEA) joining together the cream of the Russian economic science formed Expert Council for Economic Reform (EC). NEA Executive Board elected Professor of the Higher School of Economics Dr. Grigory Yavlinsky Chair of the Expert Council. The first meeting of the NEA Expert Council which took place in Moscow on December 14 discussed the guidelines and the rules of procedure of the Council. By this day 59 renowned researchers, academics and practitioners – key specialists on socio-economic institutions – had given their consent to join NEA headed by Yavlinsky...

YABLOKO’s leader on the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly

Based on Russian media reports, December 1, 2010

YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin expressed his disappointment with Presidential Address to the Russian parliament, as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev virtually failed to propose any measures in the field of political reform. “He did not say a word about the “glorified” United Russia party and nothing was proposed in the field of political reform, however, in an earlier statement the President had noted that without such a reform we would not be able to overcome the signs stagnation,” Mitrokhin said. “Only cosmetic changes has taken place; whereas inequality of the parties that will run in the parliamentary elections has been maintained. In addition, the past regional and municipal elections demonstrated that election fraud did not reduce at all,” he noted...

YABLOKO criticizes Russian concept of Democracy

Liberal International News Bulletin. Issue 208. November 4, 2010...

In an interview with Russian Kommersant newspaper Grigory Yavlinsky, member of LI Full Member YABLOKO's Political Committee, discussed modernisation, reforms and elections in Russia pointing out that a collapse of the current political system could be a realistic option. ”The Soviet system was not reformed, [our society] was simply built on its ruins and that is why we have the system we currently have (...) Many people are losing trust in the state and its institutions (...) The ban on criticism of top officials, including the President and Prime Minister should be abolished without delay,” Yavlinsky said. He further commented on the Russian political system being 'an imitation of democracy” saying that official survey data implies that very few people believe that the carried out elections are fair. He also highlighted the importance of getting institutions working again through modernisation and reformation, “We should take institutional actions where possible reducing manual control to the required minimum (...) Institutions need to start functioning. Moreover, the apparent discrepancy between words and deeds encourages indifference and crime.” MORE

“Obvious discrepancy between words and deeds encourages indifference and crime.” Grigory Yavlinsky interview to Kommersant, October 26, 2010

...Kommersant: Why are all the democrats, including your party YABLOKO, have been constantly repeating that our political system is "an imitation of democracy." Is it because you are hurt: as democrats have been losing all the elections, this means that we have not a democracy, but its imitation?

Yavlinsky: They have been asking this question for fifteen years already. Do you think that it is possible to play being hurt for such a long period of time? I do not think people who say that twice two is four say so because they are offended. Millions of people are absolutely convinced that the elections are unfair. These are not only our ardent supporters (by the way, we have millions of supporters, even according to the official figures). Many people are losing their trust to the state and its institutions. But as many people still believe that we should participate in elections, at least for the fact that no one could say "well, you see, you yourself do not go, so it’s your fault”, we have to participate. By the way, the October election day (Ed. regional elections in 77 Russian regions took place on October 10, 2010) showed us many signals that people had positive attitude to us, although we experienced great difficulties in the campaign and monitoring over the counting of the results...

YABLOKO in hydrochloric acid
Grigory Yavlinsky: "The political elite shrunk to a nano-size".

Interview with Grigory Yavlinsky by Yulia Kalinina, MK. October 8, 2010.

...MK: Can we assemble the collapsing systems with the help of modernisation?

Yavlinsky: If under modernisation we understand merely technological innovations, then we can not.

MK: What does modernisation mean for Russia?

Yavlinsky: Modernisation of Russia means changing the rules of social relations inside the state, set the same law for everyone, introduction of independent court, putting the government under public control, formation of the legislative authority with account to the opinion of a large part of the society, rather than some bureaucratic group. This is what modernisation is about...

Yavlinsky: “Medvedev conducts the same policies as Putin”
Kurier, Austria, September 28, 2010.

...Grigory Yavlinsky: ...The Russian economy resembles a drug addict: with a pipeline pushing gas into his left arm and an oil pipeline running to his right arm. This results in economic hallucinations.

KURIER: Will you compete in the presidential election?
Grigory Yavlinsky: We'll see. I tried it twice. In 1996 and 2000, however, these were not free elections. But these were nevertheless elections. It was like a football game. I had a gate that was 100 meters wide and a team of five players. Yeltsin had a gate one meter wide and a team of 15 players. Since 2004, there have been no playing field and arbitrators anymore. Only a scoreboard and the score: 100:1...

The original, Kurier (in German)

Grigory Yavlinsky visited Vladimir

TV-6 channel, Vladimir, September 23, 2010.

Grigory Yavlinsky, economist and politician of 1990s with the highest reputation arrived to the Vladimir region. Yavlinsky was Vice-Premier of the Soviet government, deputy of the State Duma of three convocations and former leader of the democratic YABLOKO party. The programme of Yavlinsky’s official visit Yavlinsky is very tense: a meeting with the Governor of the region, negotiations with the heads of the Electrocable plant in Kolchugino, a lecture in the Vladimir branch of the Academy of the State Service, press conferences and numerous interviews. Such high interest to Yavlinsky is very easy to explain considering Russia’s monotonous political landscape. Any alternative professional view is in demand now by the thinking part of the Russian society. Does the opposition have chances to destroy the political monopoly of the [progovernmental] United Russia party? Why do food-stuff prices fell in the developed countries but rise in Russia? And why does the Kremlin once again issue licences for mobbing of governors? An independent evaluation by an authoritative expert on the key political and economic issues leaves no comment...

Sergei Mitrokhin called to a radical change of Russia’s political course at the World Political Forum

Press Release, September 12, 2010.

YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin called to a radical change of Russia’s political course at the World Political Forum in Yaroslavl. "We require an anti-oligarchic project or, in other words, policies the essence of which would be a bourgeois revolution from the top,” he said. Mitrokhin proposed the following key steps that should be undertaken by the authorities so that to conduct a real modernisation of Russia...

Grigory Yavlinsky will be the guest of the Real Time programme at the Finam FM radio

Press Release, September 7, 2010.

Member of YABLOKO’s Political Committee and founder of the party Dr. Grigory Yavlinsky will be the guest of the Real Time programme at the Finam FM radio. The topic of the programme is “Political Liberties and Economic Modernisation. Why the Former Requires the Latter?” Broadcasting begins at 19:05 (MSK). Finam FM – 99.6, http://finam.fm
We welcome your questions to Grigory Yavlinsky at tel +7 495 730 7370 or at http://finam.fm/broadcast/2

Sergei Mitrokhin: President crossed out the course towards modernisation

Press Release, July 15, 2010.

“The President’s statement crosses out the course towards modernisation he has proclaimed. Amendments proposed to the law on the Federal Security Service demonstrate that instead of building a modern state in Russia the President has been restoring the most archaic institutions of the totalitarian past,” YABLOKO’s leader said.

According to Mitrokhin no one but corrupted bureaucracy which is afraid of the people and tries to maintain at any price its power and riches accumulated with the help of this power needs these amendments.

Today President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said at a joint press-conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the draft law “has been developed on his order”. However, the draft law was submitted to the parliament by Chair of the Government Vladimir Putin...

Is Modernisation in Russia Possible? Interview with Grigory Yavlinsky and Boris Titov by Yury Pronko, "The Real Time" programme, Radio Finam, May 12, 2010

Parts 1 and 2

...Yavlinsky: Well, it’s correct. You can live like this, and live like this for a long time. Or not so long, it depends. Approximately 25% of the population of our country are satisfied with the situation, and will be satisfied. The economic system created in the country is a stable system, a self-reproducing system with its social support, and it should be noted, with a strong public support, the key feature of this system which is that people who live in this system and use it do not wish to part with it, because this would worsen their situation very rapidly. [Our] people are mostly well-educated, intelligent, they understand that such a system will not last long in a strategic sense, but to part with it at present, today would mean worsening of their situation today and tomorrow. Therefore, they do not want this. The system has shown for the past ten years, that if the situation on the world markets is more or less favourable, than the system will be functioning and provide good growth rates...

The Courchevel Serfs

By Alexei Melnikov for Gazeta.ru, April 19, 2010

The oligarchs' formula for modernization: the citizens should work more, get less payment, and not complain when they are dismissed without compensation.

People usually name the confrontation between the civil society and a corrupt state be the key political conflict in modern Russia. The latest statement by [tycoon] Mikhail Prokhorov, who voiced the position of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE) on labour legislation, showed the people that there is one more serious conflict. It is called ‘open social confrontation’. Between business and hired labour. The statement by RIUE sis very important.

Maybe for the first time for the past years the society has been openly shown that large business has its own interests; separate from both the "state" and the "public" interests. During the heady "noughties", the large business dressed up in the clothes of bureaucratic patriotism and its face demonstrated a grin of "social responsibility" when in public...

The Moscow Times, February 26, 2010

By Alexander Bratersky

President Dmitry Medvedev's police reforms will turn into a sham if the public is excluded from the process and other law enforcement agencies are left untouched, opposition politicians and human rights activists said Thursday.

“It is impossible to reform the Interior Ministry without reforming the prosecutor's office and the justice system,” Yabloko party leader Sergei Mitrokhin said at a round table organized by the Moscow police to discuss the reforms with the public...

Sergei Mitrokhin: the reform of the interior should begin from the “clean hands” operation

Press Release. February 25, 2010

Round table “The Reform of the Interior Must Meet the Expectations of the Civil Society” initiated by Deputy Chair of the Moscow YABLOKO Andrei Babushkin took place in the press centre of the Moscow Interior department on February 25.

Representatives of human rights organisations including such renowned figures as Ludmila Alexeyeva and Valery Borschyov participated in the round table. YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin also participated in the discussion. “The interior needs not simply to make staff reduction, but anti-corruption cleaning,” Mitrokhin said.

YABLOKO to organise round table “The Reform of the Interior Must Meet the Expectations of the Civil Society”

Press Release. February 24, 2010

Round table “The Reform of the Interior Must Meet the Expectations of the Civil Society” will be conducted on the initiative of Andrei Babushkin, Deputy Chair of the Moscow YABLOKO and Co-Chair of the Human Rights faction of the party in the press centre of the Moscow Interior Department, on Thursday, February 25.

YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin will participate in the round table. Other guest speakers are:
Ludmila Alexeyeva, the Moscow Helsinki Group,
Valery Gribakin, head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the Interior Ministry of the RF,
Alexander Zharov, Ombudsman for the Moscow Region,
Alexander Zimin, leading expert of the Moscow University of the Interior Ministry,
Svetlana Gannushkina, Grazhdanskoye Sodeistviye (Civil Support)
Vladimir Lukin, Russia’s ombudsman,
Alexander Muzikantsky, Moscow ombudsman,
Ella Pamfilova, Civil Society and Human Rights Council under the President of the RF,
Lev Ponomaryov, For the Human Rights movement,
Genry Reznik, Moscow Bar Association...

Brief Outline of Sergei Mitrokhin’s Report at the State Council meeting

January 22, 2010

The key problem of Russia’s political system is monopolism which manifests itself in three major ways:

1) bodies of power and parliaments of all levels demonstrate monopoly of one party representing the interests of bureaucracy and large-scale business merged with it;
2) complete dominance of the executive over the judicial authority;
3) dictate of one social class – the bureaucracy – over all other social groups.
Thus, the present political system generally reproduces the Soviet system, with its key flaw – the monopoly of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on power.
Such monopoly led to the insensibility of the political system of the USSR to the challenges of the time. Attempts to reform the system were considerably belated and that, consequently, led to a collapse of the USSR.

Assessment of Russia’s Present Political System and the Principles of Its Development. Brief note for the State Council meeting (January 22, 2010) by Dr.Grigory Yavlinsky, member of YABLOKO’s Political Committee. January 22, 2010

...In the absence of serious attention to the raise of political culture and freedom of speech, elections in our country will become a fest of demagogues and populists killing the system.

The main problems and goals of the society and the state in the field of creation of modern political system and political reform do not represent a mere correction, they mean bringing of life and sense into Russian politics.

Only in this case it will be of interest for the people and will be worthy of their attention. To achieve this we should first of all raise the level of public consciousness and open opportunities for public participation in the power and politics.

We think that to prevent dissolution of the Russian political system in 2010 – 2012 we need to undertake the following gradual but nonetheless decisive steps...

YABLOKO’s Political Committee determined the tasks of the responsible opposition in modern Russia

Press-Release, September 26, 2009

A meeting of YABLOKO’s Political Committee took place on September 26. The Committee developed the goals of the party in modern Russia.

YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin indicated in his report to the Committee that a system of bureaucratic cronyism developed in modern Russia. Its goal is to maintain in power one and the same ruling group for an unlimited period of time.

“Supporting a number of President Medvedev’s recent statements on the need of modernisation in Russia YABLOKO states that their realisation is incompatible with the real goals of this system,” Mitrokhin said.

Mitrokhin expressed his certainty that this system “can lead Russia to stagnation reminiscent of the stagnation of the Brezhnev period in the USSR, when the political elite lost the chance to conduct modernisation of the USSR, thus dooming it to disintegration”.

According to Mitrokhin, the task of the opposition is to offer an alternative to the political course of the country present leaders, such as building of a modern state based on democratic institutes and procedures.