Press Release, 16.04.2022

Photo: Ivan Bolshakov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

“Yabloko is trying to preserve democratic institutions and European political culture in Russia”, Ivan Bolshakov, Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party, said in his speech at the 21st Congress of Yabloko today.

The speech was devoted to the reform of the party and the mission of Yabloko. Bolshakov noted that “we need a compact party that can ensure the safety of its members”. “Let there be only several thousand members in the party, but such members we will not be ashamed for, who will not betray and who will really be like-minded people,” Bolshakov said.

“You are either for the truth or for continued of lies, or for archaism and lack of freedom and with your statements and actions you create a basis for potential wars, repressions and totalitarianism, or you fight against all of this. Now this is not a hypothetical, controversial issue. This is the reality we live in,” he said.

Bolshakov also noted that there are no elections in Russia anymore, so a big question arises: how can parliamentary-type parties live in this system? “On the other hand, it is we who should become the structure in which [our intra-party] elections will be taking place. And this is the important meaning of the reform of the party,” Bolshakov emphasised.

The election of the party Chairman, and primaries included in the Charter during the reform, – these are not just institutions of an intra-party democracy aimed at ensuring that the party works and develops better, it is an attempt to “preserve democratic institutions in our country,” Bolshakov noted. He sees Yabloko’s task in teaching those who want to engage in politics how to use these institutions.

Bolshakov also spoke about the mission of the party.

“Totalitarianism is interested in the disintegration of society, the atomisation of all social binds. We are interested in strengthening social ties and developing society, endowing it with such strength so that to curb the authoritarian aspirations of the government. Our main mission is to restore people’s faith in society and preserve European political culture in Russia,” Bolshakov said.

Ivan Bolshakov

is Deputy Chair of the Yabloko party. Political analyst. Member of the Russian Association of Political Science. Head of the Analytical Department of Yabloko.