Press Release, 11.02.2019

Yabloko Chair Emilia Slabunova sent an appeal to Vladimir Medinsky, Minister of Culture of Russia, calling on the Minister to help the Rachmaninov Novgorod City College of Arts to retain their premises in the territory of the Novgorod Kremlin.

Slabunova also appealed to the Federal Service for Supervision in the Field of Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor) with a request to check the validity of the decision of the Novgorod Minister of Culture to move the college to premises that do not meet the requirements of the educational process. The politician asks Mikhail Katyukov, Minister of Science and Higher Education, to inform Yabloko whether the relocation of the college has been agreed with his Ministry.

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Press Release, 6.02.2019

The customer, organiser and executor of the criminal case against [journalist] Svetlana Prokopyeva is the Russian state. The goal of this ordered persecution is encroachment on freedom of speech and freedom of mass media in Russia, that is, the basis of the constitutional order. The Russian state has become a terrorist and is leading terror against its citizens.

Svetlana Prokopyeva in her column on the “Echo of Moscow in Pskov” [website] wrote after the tragic event [the act of terror] in Arkhangelsk the following: the state, leading terror against its citizens, the state that destroys human rights and freedoms is dangerous for people and dangerous for itself.

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Grigory Yavlinsky’s web-site, 6.02.2019

How to increase growth rates of the economy and overcome poverty in Russia? It is very simple. It is necessary to appoint such a head to the Russian Federal Statistical Service (Rosstat) who will draw both economic growth and an increase of income of the population, and unceasingly trumpet about this in the mass media.

So they did. Prime Minister Medvedev, due to the deterioration of macroeconomic statistics for the second half of 2018, decided to “remedy the situation” by replacing the head of Rosstat. Moreover, Minister of Economic Development Mr. Oreshkin constantly demanded from the former head of the statistical agency to give “more optimistic” indicators. At the same time, the biggest accusations set against Rosstat were that the state statistical service showed a drop in real incomes of the population. Therefore, the government decided that reform is due, as Finance Minister Mr. Siluanov said, regarding “the team, principles, methods and works”. The new head of the service should show only such a picture of the developments in the economy, which Putin and propaganda in the media need.

On 24 December, Pavel Malkov, a “big specialist in statistics,” previously the Minister of Economy of the Saratov region, was appointed head of Rosstat instead of Alexander Surinov, who had been heading the statistical agaency since 2009.

And here it comes.

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Statement by the Yabloko Bureau, 4.02.2019

Blurring of distinction between peaceful opposition and revolutionaries is dangerous primarily for the state system

The criminal case against Anastasia Shevchenko, activist of Otkrytaya Rossia (Open Russia), is the evidence of cynicism and elementary irrationality of the authorities.

Applying house arrest to a mother of three minor children for social activities is cruel and unacceptable. The court did not take into account that she supported an elderly mother and three minor children, and ignored the fact that she was the only guardian of her disabled daughter (category I of disability). On 31 January, Anastasia’s daughter died in hospital.

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Grigory Yavlinsky’s Facebook page, 3.02.2019

The INF Treaty is no longer valid. Moscow announces the start of creation of new types of missiles. The threat to the security of Russia and Europe surges many-fold. Whether Russia was engaged in the development and testing of the rocket in violation of the INF Treaty, which was the formal reason for the US withdrawal from this treaty, is unknown. Russia denies the charges. However, continuous state lies on every occasion cast serious doubts on the assertions of the Russian authorities.

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Press Release, 4.02.2019

Oppositional Perm deputies accuse the city parliament leadership of censorship

The leadership of the Perm Duma has banned posting on social networks of the city parliament videos of Nadezhda Agisheva, deputy from the Yabloko party, in particular, those on raising the retirement age, problems of lonely disabled people, as well as changing zoning in the Kirovsky district of Perm.

https://www.facebook.com/nagisheva/videos/1139552339556243/?t=0

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Specially for Yabloko website by Svetlana Prokudina, 12.01.2019

Sergei Ivanenko, Yabloko Deputy Chair, has turned 60 on 12th January. Sergei Victorovich is one of Grigory Yavlinsky’s closest colleagues. He was actively involved in the foundation of the Yabloko party. Ivanenko played one of the key roles in the work of Yabloko’s faction in the State Duma. The Yabloko party made an exclusive interview with Sergei Ivanenko shortly before his birthday. We discussed the past and present of the party. Sergei told us about  the high ranking positions he had refused to stay with Yabloko. We also learned how he became a chess master.

-When Grigory Yavlinsky founded Yabloko in 1993, did you have a feeling that this is a very serious project?

You know, there were forecasts that the organisation would collapse right after the State Duma elections of 12th December 1993. When our bloc “Yavlinsky-Boldyrev-Lukin” passed the 5 per cent threshold, almost all newspapers were arguing that this union was unnatural – all the people in there were too ambitions, and sooner or later their union would come to an end. And they expected that that would happen sooner rather than later. However, experience shows that out of all the democratic parties that were founded in the 1980s and 1990s, Yabloko is the only one that is still functioning. As far as I remembers, there were more than 30 parties at that time. Those parties participated in elections and were headed by some rally prominent politicians. Only Yabloko managed to make it to this day despite the hard times. I think the reason for this is that right from the beginning Grigory Yavlinsky and his colleagues designed Yabloko as the party of values, not the party of political technology. This is what makes us stand out. This is why we have our successes and failures. We have never betrayed our principles and have always stood firm. Read more »

Press release, 1.02.2019

On Sunday, 3 February, Yabloko will take part in a protest against the “waste reform” and for the solution of other environmental problems throughout the country. Yabloko activists plan to participate in rallies and pickets in 32 regions of the country, in half of these actions the party became the organiser of the protest. In five regions, where the regional governments refused to give permission on rallies, activists intend to hold one-person pickets.

Participants in the campaign for the protection of environment demand from the authorities to revise the extortionate tariffs for the disposal of solid waste, as well as the adoption of real state measures for the implementation of separate waste collection. In addition, each region participating in the action will add its own environmental issues to the common agenda.

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Press Release, 1.02.2019

Lev Shlosberg

Lev Shlosberg, MP from the Yabloko faction in the Pskov Regional Assembly and head of the Yabloko branch in the Pskov region, devoted his speech before the 28th session of the Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies to the liquidation of the district newspapers of the Pskov region and attempts to stop this process.

In late November – early December 2018, administrations of the municipal districts of the Pskov region received “road maps” for the liquidation of municipal unitary enterprises – publishers of district newspapers. It is planned to create one organisation (instead of municipal enterprises) ensuring publication of all district newspapers in the region.

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Press release, 29.01.2019

Yabloko to participate in All-Russia protest agains the waste treatment reform. The action will take place on 3 February. Activists will join take part in protest actions in 32 regions of Russia. What is more, Yabloko will organise the actions in half of these places.
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Press release, 29.01.2019

St. Petersburg authorities promise to make a new rent contracts with the Memorial human rights group on 1 March, 2019. St. Petersburg Vice-Governor informed Boris Vishnevsky, Yabloko MP in St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly, about the decision. Read more »

Grigory Yavlinsky’s web-site, 13.01.2019
The past year, 2018, recalled the global financial crisis, and not only formally in the spectre of its tenth anniversary. The abrupt decline in the Dow Jones and NASDAQ stock market indices at the end of the year were the most significant since 2008. Pre-Christmas indicators for global stock markets came close to the worst December figures since the Great Depression at the end of the 1920s. In 2018 world markets lost almost $7 trillion, making it their worst year since the 2008 financial crisis. In the third quarter of last year, household debt in the US reached a record $13.5 trillion. Almost 80% of Americans are now living from one pay cheque to the next. The last time household debt was nearly as high was in 2007, not long before the “great recession”. Read more »

Greetings, 28.01.2019

Andrei Babushkin, Chair of the For Human Rights Committee and member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights, is celebrating his birthday today. Greetings from Emilia Slabunova ,Yabloko Chair:

Dear Andrei Vladimirovich!

Happy Birthday!

You dedicated your life to defending human rights. You are helping those who found themselves one on one with lawlessness. Your work is honourable and necessary.

We are glad that we are like-minded people.

We wish you to stay strong and have lots of support from your next of kin!

Press release, 25.01.2019

Yabloko’s Liberal Club will discuss the experience of German and European liberals on 30th January, Wednesday.

The Free Democratic Party of Germany had been either part of the ruling coalition or parliamentary opposition since the end of World War II. However, the party did not pass the 5 per cent threshold in 2013 and did not win any seats in the Bundestag. A party reform took place, and in 2017 FDP gained 10.7 per cent winning 80 seats in the parliament. FDP gain from 6 to 13 per cent in the Landtag elections. How do they manage to do it? Read more »

Press release, 25.01.2019

The Yabloko party has launched a draft of Russia’s electoral system reform inviting the main experts in the field to discuss it.

The draft was launched by Elena Dubrovina, member of the Central Election Commission (1999-2016), head of Yabloko’s Centre for Legislative Initiatives and member of the Federal Political Committee.

According to Dubrovina, it is not possible to change anything by “simply introducing amendments to the current legislation. We need the change the system completely so that the voters could trust in it and come to the polling stations”. In her speech she addressed the main changes that should take place. Read more »

Emilia Slabunova to meet the staff of the music college that is being evicted from its premises and make a speech at a rally against closing the hospital in Shimsk
Press release, 24.01.2019

Yabloko Chair Emilia Slabunova will arrive in Veliky Novgorod for a two days business trip.

On 25th January Yabloko Chair will have a meeting with students of a local music college and their parents. They are protesting against the eviction of the college from the premises that have been using since 1959. The staff of the college is concerned that some musical instruments are too fragile to be transported. What is more, their new premises is not suitable for a college – it is smaller and it is not soundproof. Read more »

Grigory Yavlinsky’s Telegram channel, 24.01.2019

On 23 January, Juan Guaido, leader of the Venezuelan opposition parliament, declared himself acting President of the country. This happened in Caracas during a demonstration when many thousands people protested against President Nicolás Maduro, and a disastrous economic situation developed in Venezuela during his presidency. Read more »

Press release, 23.01.2019

Irina Safronova, Chair of the Rostov branch of Yabloko, came to a court hearing on what measure of restraint was to be applied for Anastasia Shevchenko, an activist of the Open Russia organisation. Anastasia is accused of being an active member of an organisation which is classed as “undesirable” in Russia. Read more »

Such decision was adopted at the general meeting of the Moscow Helsinki Group on 21 January

Press Release, 22.01.2019

Three Co-Chairs of the Moscow Helsinki Group were elected at the general meeting of the organisation. Valery Borschyov, leader of Yabloko’s Human Rights Faction and member of the Human Rights Council of Russia, Vyacheslav Bakhmin, founder of the Sakharov Centre, and Dmitry Makarov, Co-Chairman of the coordinating council of the international Youth Human Rights Movement, were elected Co-Chairs of the Group. Read more »

Yabloko Deputy Chair on the top-down policy of the Kremlin and the creation of the all-Russia waste operator
Nikolai Rybakov’s blog post at the Echo Moskvy website, 18.01.2019

It seems that everyone has finally understood what the reform of the municipal solid waste treatment is about and why it is not going to be effective. However, we have another thing coming – the all-Russia environment operator. This structure was created following the presidential decree of 14th January. The organisation will be responsible for the formation of a complex system of MSW treatment. Read more »