Is
Modernisation in Russia Possible? Interview
with Grigory Yavlinsky and Boris Titov by Yury Pronko,
"The Real Time" programme, Radio Finam, May
12, 2010
30 years ago, on 16 October, 1993, a protocol on the establishment of an electoral bloc for elections to the State Duma was signed, the top three candidates included Grigory Yavlinsky, Yury Boldyrev and Vladimir Lukin. People immediately named the political association “YABLoko” [according to the first letters of the names of the top three candidates of the bloc, also “yabloko” means “apple” in Russian].
Photo: Yabloko candidates Pyotr Kopylov and Maxim Novikov
Yabloko candidates in the by-elections to the Novosibirsk City Council are campaigning under the slogan “For Peace and Freedom!”. It should be noted that in September, Yabloko already held elections under the same slogan in other regions to municipal councils and city parliaments. Yabloko candidates in Novosibirsk plan that the second topic of their campaigns will be the problems of the city and their districts.
Statement by the Chairman of the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko, 13.10.2023
Photo: A 300,000-strong anti-war demonstration in Moscow in August 1986 in support of the statement of Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR, on the programme for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons throughout the world / Photo by Andrei Solomonov, RIA Novosti
Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted on 5 October that Moscow may withdraw ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). A week later, on 12 October, it was reported that the relevant State Duma committee had prepared a bill to revoke ratification. Its consideration in the first reading will take place on 17 October.
Photo: The Legislative Assembly of St.Petersburg / Photo by the Press Service of the Legislative Assembly of St.Petersburg
The Legislation Committee of the St. Petersburg city parliament removed two initiatives of the Yabloko faction from the agenda of the plenary session at a meeting on Friday, 13 October. Both of them concerned the protection of the rights of voters and parliamentary minorities.
Maxim Petlin, Chairman of the Sverdlovsk regional branch of the party and a member of the Federal Bureau of Yabloko, celebrates his 50th birthday on 12 October. Chairman of the Yabloko party Nikolai Rybakov congratulates Maxim Petlin on his anniversary:
Photo: A building damaged by rocket attacks on Tel Aviv / Photo by Vyacheslav Tatarovsky, RIA Novosti
War has come to Israel. Terror, which seemed to have been more or less minimised for two decades with the help of a sound military doctrine and the efforts of professional intelligence services and diplomats, broke out with unexpected force and in an absolutely ugly form. It turned out that all the previous security measures were absolutely insufficient and the modern political model in general was not ready for the new circumstances.
It is with alarm and pain that we, together with the entire world, observe the unfolding tragedy in Israel and Palestine. A monstrous massacre carried out by fanatics. A new war, another burning fire on our small planet. We sincerely sympathise with all the victims and those injured, and their families.
Two candidates for deputies were nominated by the Novosibirsk branch of the Yabloko party at a meeting of the regional bureau held on Sunday. By-elections for the electoral districts Nos 40 and 49 will be held on 15-17 December, 2023.
On 9 October, the Yabloko Party University hosted a lecture “Russian Regions in the New Economic Conditions”. The lecturer was Natalya Zubarevich, Professor of the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University and Doctor of Geographical Sciences.
The General Assembly of the regional branch elected the chairman, his deputy, members of the Bureau and the Control and Audit Commissions of the Kaliningrad branch of the party.
Congratulations from Nikolai Rybakov and Grigory Yavlinsky, 7.10.2023
Photo: Emilia Slabunova / Photo by Sergei Pyatakov, RIA Novosti
On 7 October, Emilia Slabunova, a member of the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko, the third Chairperson of the party, and an MP of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia, turns 65. Yabloko leaders Nikolai Rybakov and Grigory Yavlinsky congratulate Emilia Slabunova on her anniversary.
Photo: Anastasia Rudenko / Photo from social media
The Yabloko branch in Ivanovo will open a public reception in its office on Saturdays from 12:00 to 13:00. Anastasia Rudenko, lawyer and a Yabloko party member, will provide free consultations on legal issues for Ivanovo residents.
On 27 October, the Yabloko Party University will host a lecture “Causes, Results and Significance of the Superficial Europeanisation of Russia in the Second Half of the 15th – early 16th Centuries”. The lecture is Tatyana Chernikova, Doctor of Historical Sciences and Professor of Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Photo: Monument to Joseph Stalin in Velikiye Luki / Photo from open sources
Artur Gaiduk, MP of the Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies from Yabloko, points out that the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Pskov Region, which received for consideration and response his August appeal to the Public Prosecutor General’s Office in connection with the unauthorised installation of a monument to Joseph Stalin in the city of Velikiye Luky, ignored the failure of the organisers of the installation of the monument to comply with the requirements of the Regulations of the Velikiye Luky City Duma on the procedure for installing monuments, memorial signs and memorials boards. The Regulations comply with federal law.
Photo: Oksana Sergeyeva / Photo by the Novgorod Yabloko
The court hearing on the administrative case against Oksana Sergeyeva, a municipal deputy and candidate from Yabloko in the elections to the Novgorod City Duma, was held on 5 October. A few days ago, the same judge ruled out that another Yabloko candidate, surgeon Valery Kochnev, was guilty of “demonstrating Nazi symbols”. Both the court decisions will be appealed.
On 3 October, a screening of the film “Yablokov” was held at the office of the Yabloko party. The film is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of Alexei Vladimirovich Yablokov, an outstanding scientist, public and political figure, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the leader of the Green Russia faction of the Yabloko party. The memorial event was attended by the widow of the scientist Dilbar Klado, members of the Green Russia Faction of the Yabloko party Nikolai Rybakov and Olga Tsepilova, Co-Chairman of the Union of Environmental Organisations of Moscow Andrei Frolov, Executive Director of the non-profit organisation “Council on Marine Mammals” Dmitry Glazov, Chairman of the Ryazan branch of Yabloko Konstantin Smirnov and others. Before watching the film, the participants of the event shared their memories of Alexei Yablokov.
30 years ago Russia was on the brink of civil war. The illiterate “price liberalisation” of state monopolies, carried out literally within a day in January 1992, in a country where there were no private enterprises at all, caused hyperinflation of 2.600% by the end of the year – prices grew by 26 times. At the same time, the Russian government abandoned the Economic Cooperation Agreement with the former Soviet republics, which it had already signed in October 1991, which led to a decline in production and shutdowns of industrial enterprises. Total impoverishment of the population, unemployment and a rapid increase in crime began. However, the authorities ignored the growing indignation of citizens and categorically refused to engage in meaningful dialogue, labelling those who expressed pain and confusion and asked fair questions as “anti-reform forces.”
Photo: Valery Kochnev / Photo by the Novgorod branch of Yabloko
On 3 October, the Judge of the Novgorod District Court recognised Valery Kochneva guilty of demonstration of the Nazi swastika and fined him 2.000 roubles. The defence was denied a linguistic examination of the video for the song “Zombie” by the Irish group Cranberries, which was published on Kochnev’s page on the VKontakte social media: the court was satisfied with the report by Alina Plotnikova, an investigator at the Centre for Combating Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who had conducted an “inspection of Valery Kochnev’s page”. The police equated the footage from the times of Nazi Germany used by the creators of the video with propaganda of Nazism. The court’s decision will be appealed.
On 2 October, The Yabloko Party University hosted the fourth lecture by Sergei Mitrokhin, a member of the Federal Political Committee and Candidate of Political Sciences. Mitrokhin’s lecture “Russian Political Mentality. The Conditions of Formation and the Key Features” was held within the framework of the series “Truth Instead of Law”.
