Is
Modernisation in Russia Possible? Interview
with Grigory Yavlinsky and Boris Titov by Yury Pronko,
"The Real Time" programme, Radio Finam, May
12, 2010
Yabloko leaders comment on the President Putin’s address to the Federal Assembly
Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov notes that all the main things form Vladimir Putin’s address, have been already promised to some extent, however, “the things are still there”. “We will protect nature reserves, – but, in fact, the protection is getting weaker. We will protect Baikal – and they are preparing a law on clear cuttings of woods on Lake Baikal. In six years, we will sort all solid waste – and they carry out a waste management reform destroying the nascent separate waste collection system. And not a word about the main thing – about peace.”
Photo: Emilia Slabunova / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
“I categorically object to the plans of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation to abolish the social studies course for grades 6-8 at the level of basic general education and leave only one hour for its study in grade 9!” Emilia Slabunova, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia and honoured teacher of Russia, wrote in her blog post.
Boris Nemtsov believed that Russia should be a peaceful country. He was a sincere person and a Russian patriot. This determined his political views. Exactly nine years ago, on 27 February, 2015, Nemtsov was shot. In the back. Right next to the Kremlin walls.
The authorities bear political responsibility for his murder.
Let his memory last forever!
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The photo shows Boris’s grave. Today several police squads were on duty near Nemtsov’s grave on Troekurovsky cemetery…
Photo: Human rights defender Oleg Orlov at the hearings of the Golovinsky Court in Moscow, 27 Febraury, 2024 / Photo by Pavel Bednyakov, RIA Novosti
The Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko expresses protest against the conviction and imprisonment of human rights defender and one of the founders of the Memorial human rights society, Oleg Petrovich Orlov.
Photo: Fragments of a building in Yubileiny District in Adviivka destroyed during the fighting / Photograph of Stanislav Krasilnikov (RIA NOVOSTI) 22 February 2024
The intense warfare between Russia and Ukraine has continued relentlessly now for two years – people are dying every day. Continuation of the military actions in any form – offensive or positional warfare — will not deliver any positive outcome for Russia, Ukraine or Western countries. Any continuation implies endless and irreparable tragedy. “The dream of some people – to end the dispute once and for all “on the battle field” – is not possible — I penned these words in my article in Novaya Gazeta Just Stop, published a year ago in February 2023. In the article I called for the immediate conclusion of a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine. This text, which is now a year old, could simply be reprinted. All I would need to do is replace the assumptions and warnings with assertions and a statement of the facts.
Photo: Anna Cherepanova / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
During the annual report of the Novgorod police chief Colonel Sergei Maksimov, in the Novgorod City Duma, the head of the Yabloko faction, Anna Cherepanova, expressed distrust in the actions of the police, listing episodes of pressure on Yabloko candidates and party members.
Illusration: Pablo Picasso, Guernica. 1937. Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid
On 28 February, the central office of the Yabloko party in Moscow will host a concert-performance “Fooled. 1938-1941”. The production is based on the diary of Friedrich Kellner (1885-1970). The director of the performance is Alexander Gnezdilo, member of the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko. The show is timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the start of the so-called “special operation” on the territory of Ukraine.
The Novgorod branch of Yabloko released a film devoted to the two years of the special military operation and entitled after Erich Maria Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”.
“I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another.”
Photo: Lev Shlosberg / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The epidemic of denunciation shows that the state manipulates society, inciting hatred towards dissidents, and those people who use denunciation understand that this is how they can realise themselves, become successful, build a career and get a positive assessment. Everyone strives for a positive assessment, including that from the state. Millions of certificates of honour, gratitude, and letters of gratitude did not grow out of nowhere.
Photo: Ksenia Cherepanova / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The decision of the Public Prosecutor General’s Office on blocking Ksenia Cherepanova’s page was made, according to the social network notification, on 21 February. Previously, VKontakte blocked the pages of Anna Cherepanova, Chair of the regional branch of the party, and Oksana Sergeyeva, deputy of the City Duma of Veliky Novgorod and deputy of the Yermolinsky rural settlement of the Novgorod region from Yabloko.
Photo: the Moscow City Duma / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Today at a meeting of the Moscow City Duma, the parliamentary majority did not support the draft appeal of Yabloko deputy Sergei Mitrokhin to the head of the city demanding that authorities must return to Muscovites their right to public hearings on the issues of urban planning. The issue put in the “Miscellaneous” section of the agenda was considered without the active participation of representatives of the pro-government United Russia party and its sister parliamentary association My Moscow. Deputies of these factions also voted against Mitrokhin’s project.
Photo: Alexander Shishlov / Photo by the Press Service of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg
At the traditional briefing of faction leaders, which is held after each meeting of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, the head of the Yabloko faction, Alexander Shishlov, spoke not about the agenda of the meeting, but about the main thing: the need for a ceasefire and the start of peace negotiations, and expressed condolences, on behalf of the Yabloko faction, to the relatives of Alexei Navalny. The Press Service of the Legislative Assembly said that they would not distribute his speech, so we are publishing the full text here.
Photo: “A new day will come” sent to the contest by Olga Gulevich, Veliky Novgorod
At the end of February and beginning of March, actions in support of political prisoners will be held in Moscow and regional offices of the party, timed to coincide with International Women’s Day (8 March). The postcards will contain works sent to Yabloko as part of the announced contest of drawings. In total, we received 106 works from different cities of Russia.
Photo: Alexander Yefimov / Photo by Yabloko Press Service
Alexander Yefimov is charged with giving an interview to the movement of independent election observers Golos, which authorities consider to be part of the international non-governmental organisation European Network of Election Monitoring Organisations (ENEMO). In 2021, the organisation was declared undesirable in Russia.
A memorial rally dedicated to the anniversary of the murder of politician Boris Nemtsov will be conducted in Barnaul, the Altai Territory, on 25 February 25 at 13:00. The action will be held on Freedom Square near the monument to victims of political repression “Farewell”. The event was agreed upon with the city administration.
On 19 February, the Yabloko Party University hosted a lecture “Dynamics of Changes in Public Opinion”. The lecturer was Denis Volkov, sociologist and Director of the Levada Centre. The participants, using materials from sociological surveys, examined how the attitude of Russian society towards the “special operation” was changing in two years, what determines public sentiment today, how opinions are distributed among different segments of the population, and whether it is worth listening to critics of public opinion polls.
On Saturday at the 21st Conference of the Chelyabinsk branch of Yabloko elected new leadership of the regional branch for the next two years. Delegates from Chelyabinsk, Kopeisk, Zlatoust, Miass and Troitsk participated in the conference.
The discussion will be held by the Gender Faction of the Yabloko party on 27 February. Everyone is invited to participate.
What are the “traditional family values” that the Russian government is promoting? Taking care of the family hearth, serving husband and children while giving up professional growth? How to deal with domestic violence? How can single-parent families be based on traditional values? How to combine the role of a “working mother” with these traditions?
Picture: Francisco de Goya “Los caprichos”. The sleep of reason produces monsters. 1799. Prado Museum, Madrid
We invite everyone to join our open discussion “Why didn’t books help?”, timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the start of the “special military operation” on the territory of Ukraine. Several invited guests will take part in the discussion: a teacher, a journalist, an actor, a writer and a sociologist.
