Is
Modernisation in Russia Possible? Interview
with Grigory Yavlinsky and Boris Titov by Yury Pronko,
"The Real Time" programme, Radio Finam, May
12, 2010
Photo: Maxim Kruglov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Maxim Loktev, the Chief Military Enlistment Officer of Moscow, contradicted himself in his response to my deputy’s inquiry: Moscow military registration and enlistment offices do not use the city’s video surveillance system to spy on conscripts, he wrote to me, although he publicly said the opposite a week ago.
Photo: The Pskov Region Assembly of Deputies / Photo by sobranie.pskov.ru
At the April session, the Pskov region parliamentarians refused to support and send to the State Duma a draft resolution submitted by Yabloko MP Artur Gaiduk on the release of people brought to criminal responsibility or convicted for the first time under articles on “fakes about the army”, “discrediting the army” and “calls for sanctions against Russia”.
On 26 April, on the 37th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Yabloko party will host a press conference “Chernobyl: a Monument to Human Madness”, as well as a screening of the film “The Space of Chernobyl”.
The events will be held as part of the Year of Alexei Yablokov. Alexei Yablokov, (1933-2017), an outstanding Russian scientist and ecologist and one of the leaders of the Yabloko party, turns 90 in 2023. Alexei Yablokov is the author of the book “Chernobyl: the Consequences of the Catastrophe for Nature and Man”, the most complete study on this topic, published in many countries of the world.
Photo: Police accompanies demonstrators at the May Day demonstration in Novosibirsk, 2018 / Photo by the Novosibirsk branch of Yabloko
The Novosibirsk Mayor’s Office informed the regional branch of the Yabloko party about their refusal to give a permission for the declared May Day demonstration.
Decision by the Yabloko Federal Political Committee of 24 March 2023
Published on 21.04.2023
Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Mutual distrust and intolerance towards opponents have been deliberately imposed on people in modern Russia. Sanctions under “political articles” have appeared in the legislation and are being tightened; and political repressions are rapidly intensifying in the country.
At the same time, an atmosphere of anger, hatred, a desire to punish, morally persecute and even physically eliminate Russian citizens is deliberately stirred up in Russian and foreign, mostly Russian-speaking, social media. Some opposition activists (mostly those who left Russia) have deliberately created labels to harass and suppress people of a wide variety of professions, views and levels of social activity. We are talking here not only about the Russian bureaucracy and the employees of the regime. The persecution is targeted at all the Russian inhabitants remaining in the country.
We are categorically against the propaganda of hatred and harassment, we consider it unacceptable to insult Russians and incite people against Russians on the basis of citizenship.
The Party believes that all adult citizens of Russia, without exception, bear unconditional responsibility for what is happening, although the responsibility is different.
In April, actions of writing letters to political prisoners will again be held at the central office of the Yabloko Party and its regional branches. As usual, everyone who would like to send a few kind words and wishes to those unjustly deprived of their freedom is invited to participate. Yabloko will help the participants of the action to deal with the intricacies of drawing up a letter to prison, and will also take care of sending letters by mail. Please, follow the link to read a short guide on how to write a letter for a political prisoner.
Photo: The May Day demonstration in Novosibirsk, 2018 / Photo by the Novosibirsk branch of Yabloko
The Novosibirsk branch of Yabloko, in accordance with the decision of the Bureau of the regional branch, has submitted a notification to the Mayor’s Office about the organisation of the May Day demonstration, which is traditional for the regional branch. Yabloko formulated two topical themes of the event: “For Peace” and “Against Violation of the Constitutional Rights of Citizens in the New Law on Electronic Call-Up Papers”.
Photo: Boris Vishnevsky and Alexander Shishlov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Deputies of the Yabloko faction of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Alexander Shishlov and Boris Vishnevsky submitted their income declarations in a personalised form. They did not hide their income from voters, despite the fact that the law no longer obliges them to do so. Alexander Shishlov and Boris Vishnevsky earned a total of over 7 million roubles for the two of them in 2022.
Photo: The Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia / Photo by the Press Service of the Legislative Assembly
The Yabloko faction in the Legislative Assembly of Karelia submitted to the Assembly its legislative initiative to supplement the Law “On the General Principles of Organisation of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation” with a norm envisaging that annual reports of the heads of the municipalities and local administrations should be published on the Internet.
Today Yabloko Chairman Rybakov personally came to the hearings of the Abakan City Court of the Republic of Khakassia in a criminal case against Mikhail Afanasyev, Editor-in-Chief of the Novy Focus online media and a member of the Yabloko party.
Photo: Maxim Kruglov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Maxim Loktev, the Chief Military Enlistment Officer of Moscow, openly stated that the Moscow video surveillance system had been actively used to determine the places of residence of conscripts, who were certainly, very much needed at present. In general, they began to talk about the true functionality of this famous system obscenely openly and directly. Although let me remind you, it was launched under the pretext of fighting crime.
On 17 April, the Yabloko Party University hosted a lecture “Towards Democracy and Back” by Boris Vishnevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko Party and Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg.
The administration of the city of Murino in the Leningrad region did not give a permission to Yabloko on holding of the first rally in Russia against electronic call-up papers for military service, which the St.Petersburg branch of Yabloko planned to organise on Sunday, 23 April. The application in electronic form was submitted by Boris Vishnevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party, Anatoly Golov, member of the Yabloko Bureau and Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko branch in St.Petersburg, as well as Dmitry Anisimov, a member of the Bureau of the regional branch. The administration of Murino first registered and accepted the application for consideration, but then stated that the application had to be on paper.
Photo: Vladimir Kara-Murza at the Yabloko congress on the threashold the State Duma election campaign of 2021 / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The Moscow City Court has sentenced politician and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years of a strict colony regime. He was found guilty of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), dissemination of knowingly false information about the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Article 207.3, Part 2, clauses “d” and “e” of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), as well as cooperation with an organisation undesirable for the Russian Federation (Article 284.1 Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Kara-Murza pleaded not guilty. “My self-esteem even went up. I realised that I did everything right. 25 years is the highest score I could get for what I did, what I believed in as a citizen, as a patriot, as a politician. So, I did everything right,” Vladimir conveyed through his lawyers.
The Yabloko party considers the persecution of Vladimir Kara-Murza political and demands that the sentence be overturned. Yabloko party leaders and Yabloko deputies in the regional parliaments have repeatedly applied to the court with guarantees for Kara-Murza. Chairman of the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko Grigory Yavlinsky appeared in court as a defence witness.
Here is how Yabloko leaders reacted to the verdict:
Decision by the Yabloko Federal Political Committee of 24 March, 2023
Published on 13 April, 2023
Photo: Mariupol / Photo by Alexander Chernykh, Kommersant
The Yabloko party, as a democratic opposition to the present system of power in Russia, has repeatedly stated its principally negative stance both as regards the strategic course of the state’s leadership headed by Vladimir Putin, and in connection with the events that began in Crimea and Donbass in 2014, and transformed into an international clash in 2022.
The application has been submitted to the administration of the city of Murino, a rally of up to 200 people is planned to be held, if agreed on with the authorities, on Sunday, 23 April.
The application was submitted by Boris Vishnevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party, Anatoly Golov, a member of the Yabloko Bureau and Deputy Chairman of the St.Petersburg regional branch of the party, and Dmitry Anisimov, a member of the Bureau of the regional branch.
The Saratov regional branch of the Yabloko party intends to appeal in court for the second time the refusal of the Saratov administration to give a permission for a demonstration in the city centre under the slogan “For Peace and Freedom!”.
The only way out is to reach a ceasefire agreement
Nikolai Rybakov’s Telegram channel. 12.04.2023
Photo: Military Commissariat / Photo by Dmitry Lebedev, Kommersant
The State Duma and the Federation Council adopted a bill tightening the rules for military conscription and illegally restricting the constitutional rights of citizens.
Amendments to the law “On military duty and military service” were adopted by the State Duma unanimously – without objections from the so-called “parliamentary opposition”.
Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of Yabloko on the new law on electronic call-up papers for mobilisation of conscripts
Press Release, 12.04.2023
Photo: Anatoly Golov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The law on electronic call-up papers [instead of head delivered personal letters for mobilisation of conscripts so that to make it harder for men to avoid being drafted] adopted by the State Duma is a step towards the Stalinist state and serfdom. This was stated by Anatoly Golov, Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of the Yabloko party.
