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: “Freedom to all political prisoners!” by Olga Kovalchuk, the Republic of Karelia, Russia
On the eve of International Women’s Day, 8 March, the Moscow branch of Yabloko will hold an action of writing letters to political prisoners. We would like to dedicate this action to women political activists, as well as to all women who have suffered from the actions of the regime and are forced to celebrate the holiday behind bars. Yabloko printed postcards with flowers drawn by artists and those who are not indifferent to civic activists, journalists and politicians in trouble.
Photo: Viktor Shalyakin / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Viktor Shalyakin, Chairman of the local branch of the Yabloko party in Novgorod, won the second lawsuit against the Russian Federation in connection with the illegal prosecution under the administrative article on “discrediting the army”. On 27 February, the Novgorod District Court satisfied the claims of Viktor Shalyakin against the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Finance for compensation of the court costs and compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
On 27 February, eight years ago, opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was killed by the walls of the Kremlin on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge. On the day of the murder, Yabloko annually holds commemorative events in Moscow and Russian regions in memory of Boris Nemtsov who opposed the war and was killed because of it.
Yabloko honoured the memory of Boris Nemtsov who was murdered by the Kremlin walls on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge, on 27 February 2015.
Today, on the eighth anniversary of the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, the leaders and activists of Yabloko came to the scene of the tragedy – the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge. The “Nemtsov Bridge” people’s handmade memorial became a place of mourning for those who knew Boris Nemtsov, and those who, like Nemtsov, did not want war.
On 11 March, the Chelyabinsk branch of Yabloko and the human rights project “You Are Not Alone 74” (https://t.me/tyneodin74 ) will hold a charity auction in support of political prisoners and those persecuted for political reasons. The auction will start at 15:00. Lots, which anyone can put up by filling out the form (https://clck.ru/33e3WR), will be set for the auction. A lot can be a book, a painting, a handicraft, a piece of furniture, etc. In addition, it can be symbolic, but something unique.
Photo: Viktor Kogan-Yasny / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
What would I say should be done, if – very unlikely – some external experts asked me what is needed for Ukraine and Europe now?
I would say that a “road map” is needed. For ten years and twenty years. Ceasefire, restoration of Ukraine, return to the borders according to the UN Charter and OSCE norms, political transformations that would allow leveling internal nidi of instability in the future Ukraine, in future fundamentally new circumstances, transformations in Russia that will allow a full return to cooperation with the EU and NATO to mutual benefit, peaceful relations between the United States and China while respecting the interests of the Republic of China in Taiwan, and transformation of the People’s Republic of China. Steps towards the “Europeanisation” of US laws, and the abolition of the death penalty there. Return to the idea of a Greater Europe with a common vision of a peaceful future.
This happened not on 24 February, 2022. This happened much earlier – in Chechnya from 1994 to 1996 and then again from 1999 to 2006; in Georgia in 2008; in Crimea and Donbass in 2014; in Syria in 2015; when the Russian Constitution was changed in 2020, and during the [so-called] “Smart Voting” in 2021 [calling to vote for anyone but the United Russia party and ignoring the fact that other parliamentary parties supported United Russia] that supported Putin’s main allies in the special military operation… But on 24 February, 2022, a catastrophe occurred. Those who were killed cannot be returned back to life. Broken lives cannot be glued together.
Today, on the eve of one year since the start of Russia’s “special operation” on the territory of Ukraine, Yabloko held a marathon “Say Yes to the Peace!”. The organisers of the marathon demonstrated 45 videos they received from Moscow and the Moscow region, Omsk, Arkhangelsk, Rostov, Voronezh, Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, Ivanovo, Barnaul, Kirov, Saratov, Kemerovo and other Russian cities. Members and supporters of Yabloko recalled in the videos how they lived through this diffiult year, and what gave them strength. Yabloko also broadcasted excerpts from the books and poems about war.
Press Release, 22.02.2023, based on bfm.ru, rbc.ru, pravda.ru
Photo: Alexei Arbatov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
On 22 February, the State Duma approved the suspension of Russia’s participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. This happened the day after the announcement of Vladimir Putin’s message to the Federal Assembly. On 21 February, the President announced that Russia was suspending participation in the START III Treaty, which was signed in 2010 by Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama. Acad. Alexei Arbatov, head of the Center for International Security of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a member of the Political Committee of the Yabloko party, believes that the United States can be expected to withdraw from the treaty in the near future.
Photo: A response letter from Yuri Dmitriyev, imprisoned head of the Karelian branch of the Memorial human rights group to the activists of the Novgorod Yabloko: “There is such a thing called “peace” (when there is no war), and, whatever paradoxically it may sound, we must fight for it! And then the world (the Universe) will become better.
Yabloko actions of writing letters of support to Russian political prisoners, which have already become traditional, will be held at the central office of the Yabloko party and in the offices of its regional branches. This time we are going to pay special attention at our actions (which will take place in late February and early March) to women political prisoners. Yabloko is preparing a series of postcards with flowers, drawn by artists who are simply not indifferent to the fate of civil activists, journalists and politicians who are in trouble.
On 23 February, on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the “special operation”, Yabloko will hold a marathon-concert “Say Yes to the Peace!” Let us recollect how we lived through this difficult year, what gave us strength, and listen to excerpts from books about war. Actress Tatyana Parshina and Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov will recite excerpts from the works of Vsevolod Garshin, Leonid Andreyev and Guy de Maupassant. Violinists Alexei Lobanov and Yefim Krinovsky will perform works by Bach, Pachelbel, Vivaldi and Maria Theresa von Paradis.
Press Release, based on Telegram channels, 21.02.2023
Photo by Dmitry Azarov / Kommersant
“Vladimir Putin’s message in short is: get ready that all this will take a long time. Our stance is: enough! Everyone has already said enough to each other – stop killing people, this is the main thing! And as long as there is an opportunity to talk about it on TV, I am doing it!” Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov once again explained on the NTV channel today why Yabloko insists on a ceasefire agreement.
The corresponding draft resolution was submitted to the regional Assembly of Deputies on 20 February by Sofya Pugachyova, head of the Novorzhevsky district, and Nikolai Barkhatov, a deputy of the Assembly from Yabloko.
Photo: Yelena Osipova at the opening of her exhibition in the St. Petersburg Yabloko on 31 January, 2023 / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The St. Petersburg police refused to open a criminal case against a telephone terrorist who reported about “a bomb threat” in the office of the Yabloko party in St. Petersburg at Shpalernaya 13. The police even failed to identify a person who had made the false call about mining. This is reported by the investigator on the refusal to institute a criminal case.
On 26 February, the Yabloko branch in the Altai Territory, will hold in Barnaul a commemorative rally in memory of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov who was murdered in Moscow on 28 February, 2015. The rally will be held in Svoboda (Freedom) Square and will begin at 12:00. The meeting of activists will be held in the square near the monument to the victims of political repression. We invite everyone to participate! We obtained a permission from the Barnaul administration for holding the public event.
Photo: Boris Vishnevsky and Alexander Shishlov in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The Committee on Legislation of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly will not put the initiative of the Yabloko faction on repealing the laws on “fakes” and “discrediting the RF Armed Forces” in the agenda of the Assembly. Such a decision was adopted by the Committee on Legislation of the St.Petersburg parliament at its meeting on Friday, 17 February. The members of the Committee said that the Yabloko’s bill was not developed enough and suggested that a working group be created for this.
Photo: Anatoly Nogovitsyn / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The Yakutsk City Court has just completed hearings on the testimony of witnesses within the framework of prosecution of Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Chairman of the Yabloko branch in Yakutia. The criminal case against Nogovitsyn was filed for his alleged “discrediting the army”. The eight witnesses declared by the public prosecutor include three security officials, one police expert, two students who admitted that they were forced to become witnesses in the case, one citizen who “experienced anxiety” and one woman who refused to come to court. The debate of the parties is scheduled on 1 March.
On 23 February, Yabloko will hold an online marathon “Say Yes to Peace!” dedicated to the events of the past year. We invite everyone to join the action by recording a video.
Tell us how you lived this year, what you thought, what you felt and what has been helping you to find strength. Please make a short video about this (up to three minutes). You can also read an excerpt from a literary work.
Photo: The Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies / Photo by sobranie.pskov.ru
The Pskov Region Governor Mikhail Vedernikov informs, in his conclusion to the Yabloko bill on criminal liability for propaganda of nuclear war which was submitted to the Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies, that “a call to commit legal actions cannot be a crime,” therefore, the Yabloko initiative cannot be supported.
Photo: The Turkish Red Crescent and Syrian Arab Red Crescent
The Yabloko party announced collection of humanitarian aid for the residents of Turkey and Syria affected by the earthquake. Yabloko is in touch with the embassies of the affected countries, where our party will transfer all the collected aid.
