On May 29, 2009, the Youth Organisation of the YABLOKO party participated in the political discussion Hyde Park. The discussion was held in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. Leaders of youth organisations from different political parties joined the discussion.
Olga Vlasova and Maxim Kruglov representing the Youth Organisation of the YABLOKO party informed the audience about the aims and goals of their organisation and anti-crisis programmes of the Party and its youth faction. Their speech provoked a heated discussion, as well as multiple questions from the audience and the opponents.
The participants of the discussion expressed their doubts on the possibilities of functioning for an opposition party in modern Russia.
Maxim Kruglov focused his attention on the difficulties the party had to confront in its attempts to inform the electorate of its stance and programme. He stressed the need of direct communication with the citizens – “at the universities, in the yards and streets”, – as there are no institutional capabilities left for the party in informing and establishing a dialogue with its electorate. He also stated that YABLOKO is the only civil party in modern Russia, therefore “we have a great responsibility for formation of civil society in our country.”
According to Olga Vlasova, the fact that the party does not have any access to mass media makes party activists looking for new forms of communication with the electorate; whereas prohibitions of the authorities on public actions sometimes turn such into unsanctioned.
“It is the actions of the governments in prohibiting picketing, meetings and marches that are unlawful, rather than decisions of the organisers to conduct such actions without prior notification of the authorities,” she said. Vlasova also stressed that “prohibitive acts of governments and their ousting of the opposition from the institutional field provoke radicalization of political activities, especially of the young people.”
Answering multiple questions Vlasova and Kruglov spoke in detail about anti-crisis measures proposed by the YABLOKO party and the YABLOKO’s Youth Faction, as well as their activities: the “Moratorium on Paid Education” programme, organisation of a permanent Internet discussion with the leading experts in education and anti-crisis concept “Housing, Roads and Land”.
After the discussion several students from the Plekhanov’s Economic Academy said that they were willing to join YABLOKO and the Youth Organisation of the YABLOKO Party.
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