Press Release, 22.08.2014

On August 22 YABLOKO’s activists participated in a march and rally devoted to Russia’s National Flag Day and the win over GKChP (State Committee on the State of Emergency). The event was conducted by the For human rights group. YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin also participated in the action.

About one hundred people gethered by the memorial to democracy defenders and conducted a rally in memory of August 22, 1991 when the three-coloured flag was raised above the White House[the Government building] as the state symbol instead of the red width with a hammer and sickle for the first time in Moscow.

Lev Ponomaryov

Leader of the For human rights organisation Lev Ponomaryov said that the events of August 19-22 1991 had put to an end on of the most severe totalitarian regimes in the world.

“We’ve won then. It was a historical event. An it occurred as a result of a mass peaceful protest. There was no such an example in the history of Russia when hundreds of thousands people came up together and the political regime in the country changed. As for today’s events at Maidan, they started as a peaceful protest but not as peaceful as it was here in 1991, we didn’t through Molotov cocktails and so on. Of course, Russia is responsible for the bloody events in Ukraine but Maidan pushed Russia towards it. It’s a very important lesson – the rallies should be mass but peaceful. And the regime change should take place only this [peaceful] way”, said Ponomaryov.

Sergei Mitrokhin

Sergei Mitrokhin explained why YABLOKO decided to participate in this action for the first time. “After all the events that have taken place this year it’s absolutely clear for us that the flag of Russia is the only thing left form democracy in our country, it’s the only thing left from the choice that the citizens of Russia made up in 1991. They choose a democratic European civilization against barbarism and degradation of our country. Today the authorities propose to turn back to the opposite direction and choose some “special” way, unknown way which is based on some traditions, nobody knows which traditions, based on some conservatism”, he mentioned.

Sergei Mitrokhin also said that there had been some mistakes within the democratic choice. YABLOKO have always said that Yeltsin made a mistake by declaring Putin president.

“What do we have today? Corruption, thievery on behalf of the officials of all levels and blood which is being shed in Eastern Ukraine due to Putin’s initiative among other things. All this means that the flag of Russia is not only the last symbol of democracy but also our last base and we should stand for it till the end. With this base we should start a pitched fight for the return of democracy to the state, return of the choice which was made in 1991 to our people. And we will do it by a peaceful democratic constitutional way”, concluded YABLOKO leader.

Valeri Borshchyov

A well-known human rights defender, YABLOKO member Valery Borshchyov remained of mass democratic actions of 2011-2012. “It means the memory is alive and we didn’t lose that experience. We know that the regime can be changed by peaceful methods”, he said.

YABLOKO activists laid white roses to the monument to democracy defenders who died in 1991.

YABLOKO activist Sergei Vinogradov and YABLOKO candidates for Moscow City Duma deputies Olga Radayeva and Ilya Khandrikov

See also:
Grigory Yavlinsky on the Russian coup of August 1991