Decision by the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko of 24 November, 2023, published on 1 December 2023

Russia is going through the stage of collapse of post-Soviet modernisation. The cause of the current crisis was the failure of misguided political and economic reforms. The main feature of the current historical moment is the boundless tragedy of the bloody and destructive in all respects armed conflict with Ukraine.

Today, Yabloko is the only political force in Russia standing for an immediate ceasefire and stop killing of people.

This position is being aggressively rejected by supporters of the war both inside and outside the country. However, increasingly more people come to understand that this position in the current conditions is the only realistic one. In addition, from a political point of view, it opens up the possibility of political consolidation of all who want peace.

Perhaps now such a unification is still far away, but the presence of the Yabloko party in the Russian legal political field is a serious factor influencing the situation and attracting people. Hence [we observe] new people, who had not previously been involved in or were not interested in politics, especially young people, joining the party.

In the current circumstances, it is especially important that Yabloko is a party that consistently opposes nationalism and populism. Nationalism and populism (both left-wing, egalitarian, and right-wing, imperial) are a direct path to civil war, to the collapse of the country. The events of recent months show that this danger is absolutely real. The continuation of hostilities and massive loss of life, the decline in the value of human life, the radicalisation of public sentiment, the accumulation of discontent and hatred in society, the emergence of ugly marginalia to the forefront of the socio-political agenda, the destruction of the legal framework and the return of criminals to the public field – all this confirms this alarming assessment.

Our task is to do everything possible to protect the country from falling into the abyss.

If such a catastrophic outcome can be avoided, then the task of building a new, future Russia will arise.

Today, due to the lack of understanding of any clear perspective, fear and uncertainty are growing in society, and further transform into hatred and aggression.

Today we can no longer talk about correction of the course; we do not even face a choice between development and stagnation.

It is necessary to offer the country a way out of the impasse. People in Russia need an understanding of perspective, a look into a peaceful future, not associated with war. At the same time, we should realise that such a change can not in any way be a return to some point in the past, some kind of normality, or a fork in the road at which we took a “wrong” turn.

All present parliamentary parties, voting unanimously in the State Duma for the continuation of the current policies, are unable to offer the country a perspective.

Therefore, today Yabloko is the party of the future.

Since its founding, Yabloko has been a party of an alternative to the post-Soviet way of reforming the political, economic and social system in post-Soviet Russia, which those who broke into power were imposing on the country by means of semi-criminal methods.

Today Yabloko represents a party of an alternative to the “Putin’s system”, its foreign and domestic policies, and the ideology that this system imposes on Russia through fear.

We must persistently and intelligently propose to people a fundamental change in the meaning of politics. It is necessary to build the state on a fundamentally new basis, linking the work of all state and public institutions with humanistic European values. The main among them are human life, faith in Man and the highest moral values, freedom, creative personal development, life without fear and social solidarity.

Believing in supreme human values and a human spiritual dimension when it comes to politics is not a juxtaposition of the ideal and the material, the carnal and the spiritual. This is an understanding that in the 21^st century, pragmatism and short-term interests are insufficient to meet the requirements of society and the state as a complex system; a higher level of political thinking is needed.

The challenges facing the country are connected not only with the consequences of the failure of Russian post-Soviet modernisation, but also with the crisis of global politics – both the system of international relations and the modern post-war political system as a whole based on the European model. We are confident that for the future of Russia there is no alternative to the European model, the consistent and persistent institutionalisation of human values.

This is precisely because today our country is in an extremely serious and deepening crisis, we must rely primarily on ourselves and go ahead of the global agenda. Only in this way can we ensure the future of our country.

Yabloko is a party based on universal humanistic values, a party of “institutionalisation of values.” Our programme “Reforms for the Majority” was based on this principle, even if it had not been fully formulated then. This distinguishes us from other current participants in the political process in Russia.

In the present situation the work of the party should be focused on building a perspective, an understanding of the future of Russia. Serious and responsible politics requires a change in the concept of our work – not looking for a “niche” that would ensure a presence in politics, but addressing the majority.

Therefore, no matter how bold and ambitious it may sound against the backdrop of the special military operation and repression, the meaning of the continuation of the life and work of the Yabloko party in Russian politics is the struggle for power in the future Russia. All our political work should be based on this understanding.

The meaning of preserving and developing our party is Russia represents a road to the future in the modern world, peace and freedom.

Grigory Yavlinsky,

Chairman of the Federal Political Committee,

Yabloko