Press Release, 22.11.2025

Photo: Kirill Goncharov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

On 22 November, the Conference of the Moscow regional branch of Yabloko took place. The delegates elected new leaders of Moscow Yabloko Kirill Goncharov was elected Chairman, Yury Shein as Deputy Chairman, and 18 people were elected to the Bureau of the regional branch.

The Conference of the regional branch is a mandatory procedural event that, according to the Charter of the party, takes place once every two years.

Its key goal is determining the branch’s governing bodies: Chairperson, Deputy Chairpersons, the regional Bureau and, if necessary, the Regional Council. Delegates of the Conference represent Yabloko’s local and primary branches of Moscow. Moreover, current members of Moscow Yabloko’s Bureau automatically become delegates. Members of the party’s federal governing bodies (according to the Charter) also become Conference delegates.

Opening the Conference, Kirill Goncharov (Moscow Yabloko Deputy Chairman at that moment) announced a minute of silence in memory of deceased party colleagues. Thus, Conference participants honoured the memory of party Deputy Chairman and Moscow branch Chairman Sergei Ivanenko (he passed away on 4 September 2024), Chairwoman of the party’s Gender Faction and human rights defender Galina Mikhalyova (she passed away on 27 February 2025), and member of the party’s Federal Political Committee and human rights defender Valery Borshchev (he passed away on 3 November 2025).

Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov also participated in the Conference. He spoke about the pressure that the party and, in particular, its Moscow branch, were facing. However, Yabloko manged to cope with the difficulties. An example of this is the Moscow branch of the party, which has two election campaigns ahead: to the State Duma in 2026 and municipal elections in 2027. This means, Nikolai Rybakov continued, that the party went on representing the interests of people thinking and feeling in harmony with Yabloko:

“Both our political opponents and millions of people today acknowledge that Yabloko is the only political party, the only structure in the country openly advocating for a ceasefire agreement. Without reservations or retreats. And our responsibility is to represent the interests of these people, millions of people.”

First, delegates, amongst whom Federal Political Committee Chairman Grigory Yavlinsky was present, approved the agenda. Then the Credentials Commission announced the content of the protocol based on work results, and delegates voted to approve their own powers.

Photo: Grigory Yavlinsky at the Moscow regional branch Conference / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Immediately after, Kirill Goncharov took the floor and read to the Conference from his friend and colleague, Yabloko Deputy Chairman Maxim Kruglov, arrested in a politically motivated case:

“Dear friends, Unfortunately, I cannot be with you today. Such difficult times and dangerous days. Please hold on!.. Let us show steadfastness and solidarity with each other. My cordial greetings and wishes for successful work. Take care! Yours, Maxim.”

Photo: Voting during the Moscow regional branch Conference / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Two candidacies were nominated for the post of the Chairman of the Moscow branch: Federal Bureau member Andrei Morev and Moscow branch Deputy Chairman Kirill Goncharov. However, putting Morev’s candidacy to a vote proved legally impossible – due to his “foreign agent” status (since the Fall of 2023) he would not be able to participate in elections or head election campaigns.

Kirill Goncharov speaking about his programme as a candidate for the post of the Chairman stressed:

“Moscow is an unusual region; it is the capital of Russia, a city where federal power is literally formed, a city that sets the tempo and rhythm of life in Russia; any political or social practices tested here are almost immediately extrapolated further. This is the city’s mission in officials’ eyes: for them, Moscow is an instrument for expanding their own influence. Without a peaceful and democratic political alternative in Moscow, there will be no such alternative in the country. In this I partly see the meaning of our work, and for it to be effective – we need to build a strong capital organisation, fill its work with serious content, clear goals, qualified personnel and new ideas. Ultimately, what our city will be like in 5-10 or 20 years depends on us. Whether it will have such phenomena as freedom for citizens, security for citizens and prosperity for citizens?”

Goncharov emphasised that Moscow Yabloko has always been the party’s vanguard, its system-forming link, not simply the largest branch in the country, but a reference point – both in terms of public activity and in the substantive part of its work. Like party Chairman Nikolai Rybakov, Kirill Goncharov reminded about upcoming campaigns in 2026 and 2027 – a period when the Moscow branch will have to traverse a most difficult political path.

Photo: Federal Bureau member and Bureau Executive Secretary Valery Goryachev at voting / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

The election of the branch Chairman took place by secret ballot – for this, transparent urns were brought into the conference hall, where delegates placed ballots. The process took about ten minutes, then the counting commission retired to analyse ballots. 34 delegates out of 39 voted for Goncharov, who was thus elected the new Moscow Yabloko Chairman.

Immediately after thanking colleagues, Goncharov nominated a candidate for Deputy Chairman – the sole candidate was Yury Shein, a journalist, former press secretary of the Democratic Russia movement, employee of Press Service of the Yabloko faction in the State Duma, and Bureau member of the Moscow branch. He has been in Yabloko since 2001 and enjoys absolute respect and authority amongst Yabloko members, the majority – 36 conference delegates – voted for his candidacy.

Photo: Moscow Yabloko Deputy Chairman Yury Shein / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

The Conference also elected 18 members of the Bureau of the Moscow branch: Maria Balandina, Denis Bolshakov, Alexander Bushnev, Maxim Vladimirov, Yevgeny Gontmakher, Vlado Gruyich, Ivan Dorofeyev, Andrei Kalyonov, Viktor Kogan-Yasny, Irina Kopkina, Alexei Krapukhin, Svetlana Krivitskaya, Andrei Lazarev, Inna Mertsalova, Yelena Morozova, Mikhail Petrov, Svetlana Solomanidina, and Andrei Shavrin.

Yelena Morozova was also elected member of the Federal Council of the party.

Five people were elected to the Control and Audit Commission: Yevgenia Vlasova, Aiman Zhakeyeva, Maya Zavyalova, Vladimir Perevalov, and Olga Radayeva.

Closing the meeting Kirill Goncharov once again thanked the delegates and stressed:

“For me, the Yabloko party is one of the main values in life. And I really share the opinion of Grigory Yavlinsky, who said that respect for people should be our country’s national idea. Incidentally, from this would follow both absence of wars and democracy. Everything that is now happening in our country comes from insufficient respect for people. I very much hope that amongst us – in our party, in our Moscow branch – respect will always prevail. We are all like-minded, we all know each other very well, and if someone has a different opinion – it is because of different life experiences and different visions of what needs to be done. But we all strive for the same thing. Let us respect each other.”