Grigory Yavlinsky’s web-site, 18.02.2021

Photo: Session of the Third Court of Cassation considering the case of Yuri Dmitriyev, 16 February, 2021

“Here, in the Sandarmokh area, a place of mass executions, over 7,000 innocent people were killed from 1934 to 1941 by the NKVD executioners: residents of Karelia, prisoners and special settlers of the White Sea – Baltic Sea labour camp, prisoners of the Solovetsky prison. Remember us, people! Don’t kill each other! ”

This inscription was to be carved on the monument to victims of political repression in Sandarmokh, Karelia. But before the opening of the monument, the words “NKVD executioners” disappeared from the text. The thing is that the heirs of those same NKVD [People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs in 1934 – 1943, engaged above other things in political reprisals and executions] executioners are now in power in our country. And, as the investigation of the Project has shown, these heirs are not only ideological, but sometimes biological.

This week the cassation court upheld the verdict to the historian Yuri Dmitriyev. A verdict in a completely falsified case. The verdict, according to which the 65-year-old head of the Karelian Memorial [human rights society] was sent to a strict regime penal colony for 13 years. This is a Stalinist massacre not only over a definite person, it is an attempt to repress the memory, the history of our country, this is a crime against the people.

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Maxim Kruglov’s blog post, 18.02.2021

Photo: Maxim Kruglov, leader of the Yabloko faction in the Moscow City Duma

Today, the Moscow authorities have finally revealed their strategy for the coming years. Instead of building modern, flexible, horizontal management structures, the Mayor’s Office and [the government’s] United Russia [party], on the contrary, concentrate all powers in their hands. At a meeting of the Moscow City Duma, they pushed through two laws that are important in this sense.

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Press Release, 18.02.2021

Photo: Anna Cherepanova and Ksenia Cherepanova / photo from Anna Cherepanova’s personal page on Facebook

On 17 February, protocols of administrative offence were drawn against  Anna Cherepanova, Chair of the Novgorod branch of Yabloko and deputy of the City Duma, as well as Ksenia Cherepanova, head of the regional branch of Yabloko’s Anti-Corruption Policy Centre. The protocols were drawn up on an administrative offense under Article 20.2 Part 5 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of the established procedure for organising or holding a meeting, rally, demonstration, procession or picketing”). According to the police, Yabloko members committed the offense during a protest action on 23 January, 2021.

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Press Release, 17.02.2021

Photo: The Boris Nemtsov March in Moscow in 2018 / Photo by the Press Service of the Yabloko party

UPD. Applications for a rally have been submitted also in Tula, Cheboksary and Novosibirsk, thus, the number of cities where rallies can take place increased to 22.

Actions in memory of Boris Nemtsov, organised by the regional branches of the Yabloko party, can take place in 19 cities of Russia. In two more cities, local authorities have already refused to give a permission to the organisers.

To date, applications for rallies and pickets on the day of the murder of Boris Nemtsov on 27 February have been submitted in eleven cities: Barnaul, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Ivanovo, Kemerovo, Magnitogorsk, Novgorod, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Pskov, Smolensk, and Yaroslavl.

It is planned to submit applications in eight more cities in the coming days: Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Oryol, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, Tomsk, and Ulan-Ude.

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Press Release, 17.02.2021

In the photo: Ivan Krisanov / photo by the Press Service of the Ivanovo branch of Yabloko

On 17 February, the Oktyabrskiy District Court of Ivanovo found Ivan Krisanov, a Bureau member of the Ivanovo branch of Yabloko, guilty of committing an administrative offense under Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation “Violation of the established procedure for organsing or holding a meeting, rally, demonstration, procession or picketing” and imposed a fine of 20,000 roubles.

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Congratulations, 16.02.2021

Today we are congratulating Viktor Sheinis on his anniversary. The Yabloko party was created in a large part due to Viktor Sheinis. It was Viktor Leonidovich Sheinis in 1993 who proposed to Grigory Yavlinsky to form a political association to participate in the parliamentary elections, he is also one of the authors of the Yabloko ideology.

Viktor Sheinis started his career as a history teacher at school. After his article “The Truth About Hungary” criticising the Soviet invasion of Hungary, he was expelled from the graduate school of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and ended up among the workers of the Kirov plant in Leningrad.

Six years later, he was able to return to academic work, as a result he became one of the leading Russian experts on the economics and politics of developing countries. In 1993 he took part in the drafting of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. For two convocations he was a State Duma deputy.

We are happy to congratulate Viktor Leonidovich on his birthday, and wishing him good health and staying with Yabloko as long as possible.

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Grigory Yavlinsky on why his article “No to Putinism and Populism” was published on time

Grigory Yavlinsky’s web-site, 12.02.2021

Photo: Moscow, January 31, 2021. Photo by RIA Novosti / Yevgeny Odinokov

The article “No to Putinism and Populism. On the Implications of Current Politics” sparked a discussion. One of the most frequent objections is that the article was published “at the wrong time”, that “the moment was not chosen right”. I do not think so.

This article is a discussion of what is happening, about the growing threats, and about the future of our country, about what to do to make Russia free, democratic and modern. Such a discussion cannot avoid touching upon Alexei Navalny, who has been in the centre of public attention since August last year [when he was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent] and who strives to be not just a politician, but a leader. Consequently, his political position, obviously, should be the subject of analysis and discussion. Fortunately, he is healthy and has fully recovered from severe poisoning. Indeed, he was sentenced to two years and eight months in a penal colony. But one shouldn’t hope that Navalny will be released as a result of an appeal or for some other reason – this will not happen.

Well, for how long should such a conversation be postponed in this situation? When will it be timely to talk about the vitally urgent things? In a week, a month, a year? Before or after the elections? When he will it be released [after serving his sentence]?

So, point by point:

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Statement by the Yabloko Bureau, 11.02.2021

Photo: Grigory Yavlinsky/Photo by the Yabloko party Press Service

The Federal Bureau of the Yabloko Party adopted a statement supporting the theses outlined in the article “Without Putinism and Populism” by Grigory Yavlinsky and noted the relevance of this article. The statement was submitted to the Bureau for consideration by Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov and all three Vice-Chairmen – Ivan Bolshakov, Sergei Ivanenko and Boris Vishnevsky. 14 members of the Bureau voted in favour of the adoption of the statement, and one abstained. There were no votes against.

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On the implications of current politics

Grigory Yavlinsky’s web-site, 11.02.2021

Moscow, January 31, 2021 // © RIA NOVOSTI, Yevgeni Odinokov

“If my people follows Gamsakhurdia,
I will have to go against my people”.

Merab Mamardashvili, 1989

Almost 10 years have passed since the protests of 2011. During this period we have witnessed  different street actions in our country with differing levels of participation, and each time people would say hopefully: “This time is completely different, now everything will turn out differently.”

In actual fact during the past ten years of protest activism nothing has changed either in terms of the number of protesters or the nature of the protest. And that is being optimistic. Less people turned out for the protest actions in Moscow in January 2021 than in 2011 and 2012, and even less than in 2019.  One hundred million views of a YouTube video were converted into approximately 200,000 people for the country as a whole and 20,000-30,000 in the Russian capital¹. Admittedly, by modern standards this is a large number for an “offline” event. However, this is far below the number needed to influence the political situation in the country, all the more so, to coerce the regime to agree to peaceful and meaningful dialogue (which is the key). Moreover, the waves of protests during these years in Russia have never been a serious problem for the regime. The main visible result of this protest activity is the increase in the number of arrested people and political prisoners who derive no benefit from some “public pressure” and who are unlikely to released. Against this background, another such cycle of protest actions will lead to even more disappointment. Even Navalny’s command staff now understand this to be true and have declared that for the time being they will no longer call on people to come out on the streets and be bludgeoned.

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Press Release 11.02.2021

Photo: Konstantin Markelov, Rector of Astrakhan State University/ photo from the official website of Astrakhan State University

Chairman of the Yabloko party Nikolai Rybakov sent an appeal to Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education, as well as Vladimir Filippov, Chairman of the Higher Attestation Commission, demanding to check the Ph.D. thesis of Rector of Astrakhan State University Konstantin Markelov for plagiarism. In case the plagiarism discovered by Dissernet in cofimed, Rybakov urges to deprive Markelov of his academic degree.

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Press Release, 10.02.2021

In the photo: Marina Zheleznyakova / Photo from the personal page on Facebook

Yabloko Party Chairman Nikolai Rybakov sent an official letter to Roman Panteleyev, Public Prosecutor of the Maritime Territory, demanding to stop the persecution of party members in Vladivostok – Marina Zheleznyakova, Chair of the Maritime Territory regional branch of the Yabloko Party, and party member Maxim Khozyaykin.

In the early morning of February 6, 2021, police officers with weapons broke into the apartments of two party members. They unreasonably and disproportionately used brute force and beat family members during conducting searches. Police officers tried to find information carriers that would contain photos or videos of peaceful rallies. Neither Zheleznyakova nor Khozyaikin offered resistance to the police officers. On the contrary, both Yabloko members provided access to all premises. But even in spite of this, both our party members and their family members were subjected to violence and humiliation: the police broke the head of Zheleznyakova’s husband, and police officers rummaged in the underwear in the bedroom of Khozyakin’s minor daughter. After a search of Khozyakin’s apartment, which was accompanied by constant use of force and psychological pressure, the activist was taken to the police station for interrogation.

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Press Release, 9.02.2021

Photo by Alexander Dybin/ znak.com

Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov sent an official letter to the Public Prosecutor of St. Petersburg Sergei Litvinenko demanding that he take measures to cancel the punishment imposed upon a citizen with deaf dumbness.

Yevgeny Agafonov was detained during a protest in St. Petersburg on January 31, 2021. According to the security officers, a citizen with almost complete deaf dumbness who is physically unable to speak or hear, shouted slogans and ignored the verbal demands of the police officers. That is, the person was actually punished for what he could not do due to his disabilities.

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Press Release, 8.02.2021

Yabloko Chairman told to the Russian Perviy Kanal (Channel One) and NTV television channels, as well as in recent interviews to the Portuguese radio TSF and the Kurdish channel RUDAW, that the main reason for the demonstrations in Moscow and other Russian cities was not the Alexei Navalny case, but the political situation in the country.

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Press Release, 5.02.2021

Photo: photobeginner/depositphotos

In Kazan, the opposition managed to receive the consent of the authorities for a rally “against detentions and repressions and for the changes in the electoral laws for the State Duma elections”. The rally will take place in the centre of Kazan, opposite the Kazan Kremlin, on February 14. The rally will begin at 12:00.

The organisers of the rally are Ruslan Zinatulli, Chairman of the Tatarstan branch of Yabloko, Marcel Shamsutdinov from PARNAS and Vladimir Kolodtsev, a representative of the Left Front.

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Press Release, 6.02.2021

In the photo: Marina Zheleznyakova / Photo from the personal page on Facebook

In Vladivostok, police officers searched the apartment of Marina Zheleznyakova, Deputy Chair of the regional branch of Yabloko in the Maritime Territory.

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Press Release, 5.02.2021

In the photo: Yana Zenkina / Yana Zenkina’s personal page in the Vkontakte social network

The Leninsky District Court of Tambov sentenced Yana Zenkina, Chair of the Tambov regional branch of the Yabloko party, to a fine of 20,000 roubles. A case was initiated against the leader of the regional branch of the party on an administrative violation under Article 20.2 Part 2 of the Administrative Code (organisation of mass simultaneous stay and (or) movement of citizens in public places, entailing a violation of public order).

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Press Release, 5.02.2021

In the photo: Daria Bolshakova /Photo by the Press Service of the Kaliningrad branch of Yabloko

The judge of the Central District Court of the city of Kaliningrad found Daria Bolshakova, a member of the Kaliningrad branch of the Yabloko party, guilty of committing a repeated violation of  Article 20.2 Part 8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (violation of the established procedure for organising or holding a meeting, rally, demonstration, procession or picketing) and sentenced her to a fine of 150,000 thousand roubles. Actually the Yabloko activist was convicted of a single picket which do not require any coordination or permission from the authorities in accordance with Russian laws. The trial took place almost immediately after Darya Bolshakova’s three-day arrest in the Chernyakhovsk detention centre for participation in an unpermitted action on January 23.

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Press Release, 5.02.2021

In the photo: Andrei Babushkin / the Yabloko party Press Service

On February 10, Yabloko will host a Zoom-lecture by Andrei Babushkin, human rights defender and member of the Yabloko Party Bureau, “How to behave during an arrest”. The lecture will start at 19:00.

The lecture will cover the issues one needs to know if detained by the police: the rights of the detained, the rights of the police, drawing up of a protocol, the rights of a lawyer, what to expect from courts, charges and possible punishments.

Andrei Babushkin is a member of the Yabloko Bureau, member of the Presidium of the Council for Human Rights and Civil Society under the President of Russia, member of the Expert Council under the Human Rights Commissioner, Chairman of the Public Council under the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow.

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Press Release, 4.02.2021

Photo by Artyom Mokhov

Yabloko party Chairman Nikolai Rybakov demanded that Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Tatarstan Ildus Nafikov find and punish the law enforcement officers who, during the rally, unreasonably and toughly detained about 50 protesters.

The Yabloko Chairman recalled that on January 31, 2021, officers of the security forces unreasonably used brutal force against a group of citizens who gathered by the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. During the detention, the protesters were seated or laid on the snow for a long time, and their hands were pulled behind their backs. Abusive statements and actions were made against the detainees, and protective masks were torn off from them.

“It is unacceptable that law enforcement officers humiliate citizens or threaten their life and health,” Nikolai Rybakov said.

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Press Release, 4.02.2021

Photo: olegkozyrev/depositphotos

Nikolai Rybakov wrote to the Public Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation and the Mayor of Moscow demanding that the restrictions on public events be lifted. A number of bans on holding mass events, in particular, sports events, have already been canceled in whole or in part. However, the ban on public events was extended by the Mayor’s Decree of January 21, 2021.

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