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: Viktor Shalyakin / Photo from social networks
Viktor Shalyakin, Chairman of the local branch of the Yabloko party in Novgorod, was charged with an administrative offense under Article 13.15, Part 9 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation – “dissemination of knowingly unreliable socially significant information under the guise of reliable messages”. Shalyakin was charged with posting allegedly unreliable information about the “special operation” in Ukraine on social networks on 25 February.
On 24 February, two weeks before the adoption of amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses introducing liability for “discrediting the use of the Russian armed forces”, Vladimir Dorokhov, Chairman of the Tula branch of Yabloko, posted on his VKontakte social media page a picture with two words, the first of which is “no”, and the second is a prohibited synonym for “special operation”. The police say that by doing this Dorokhov “undermined confidence” in the “special operation”.
Boris Vishnevsky, MP of the Legislative Assembly of St.Petersburg from the Yabloko faction, held a debate with Svetlana Agapitova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in St. Petersburg, about the expulsion of students for their participation in anti-war actions. The question was asked during the Ombudsperson’s annual report to the St.Petersburg parliament.
Boris Vishnevsky drew the attention of the city Ombudsperson to gross violations of the rights of citizens during protests against the “special operation” in Ukraine, including the rights of students who were about to be expelled from their universities even before the court decision could come into force. Such were the cases of students of St. Petersburg State University and the First Medical University. Vishnevsky noted that such actions of the heads of universities violated the Law “On Education” allowing disciplinary sanctions only for violations related to the educational process.
Photo: Yaroslav Shcherbakov and Vasily Moskovets / Photo from social networks
On 28 March, the Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region signed an order to lift coronavirus restrictions, in particular, an unconstitutional ban on holding public events. The suddenly issued order at the end of the working day and after the official registration of the claim in the law suit of Yaroslav Shcherbakov, Chairman of the Chelyabinsk branch of Yabloko, and human rights activist Vasily Moskovets against the Government of the region, which indicates a complete and unconditional victory for the plaintiffs.
Photo: Emilia Slabunova and Lev Shlosberg / Photo by the Yabloko Party Press Service
On 27 March, the social network VKontakte blocked (https://vk.com/id15847921 ) the page of Emilia Slabunova, tMP of the Legislative Assembly of Karelia, a member of the Federal Political Committee of the Yabloko party and a former Chairperson of Yabloko. The next day, Roskomnadzor (the supervision agency in the field of mass media and IT) blocked access to the website (http://shlosberg.ru/ ) of Lev Shlosberg, another member of the Federal Political Committee of the Yabloko party and the leader of the Pskov branch of Yabloko. In both cases, the Public Prosecutor General’s Office initiated the blocking.
Boris Vishnevsky, MP of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg and Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party, spoke on the air of the Partburo programme about the problems that St. Petersburg residents have most often addressed to him. Vishnevsky said that topics of great concern to the residents of the city were the hard situation with medicines, problems in the housing and communal services and social aid, as well as concerns about inflation and rising prices.
Boris Vishnevsky stressed that he had received more than a hundred letters from citizens asking for peace in Ukraine.
Photo: Grigory Yavlinsky. February 2019 / Photo: by the Yabloko Party Press Service
On 13 March, Grigory Yavlinsky gave an interview to the Czech media Forum24. The leader of the Yabloko party spoke about the situation in Russia against the backdrop of hostilities in Ukraine, explained what Putin’s policy was and what was the responsibility of the Russian elite and the nation as a whole for the developments.
– How would you comment on the current Russian-Ukrainian clash? After all, this is a tragedy for all of Europe. Do you think Vladimir Putin has decided to occupy Ukraine, or does he only want to bring it to its knees and turn it into a disintegrated state?
– The “special military operation,” as Putin calls it, of Russia against Ukraine is a huge tragedy. First of all, a tragedy for Ukraine. This is a terrible crime, innocent people are dying because of it. This is a tragedy for Europe, as it creates a huge and growing tension for it in every sense, and above all in the field of security. But in addition, this is a tragedy for Russia, this is its suicide. If we can say that the modern European state of Ukraine is being born in blood and pain, then at the same time we can say that the old Russia is dying. Certainly, this is a great tragedy for everyone, what else there is to say.
The Zavodskoy District Court of Kemerovo found Yabloko’s Alexander Kalashnik and Nikolai Kovalchuk guilty of violating the procedure for holding mass events in Kemerovo. They received fines of 3,000 roubles and 1,000 roubles, respectively, under Article 20.6.1, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
On February 27, both activists came out on single pickets (that do not require any permissions from the authorities), after which protocols on administrative violations were drawn up against them. Mass events are prohibited in the Kemerovo region, as well as in Moscow and in many Russian regions, due to the coronavirus epidemic, despite the relaxation of the sanitary regime.
Photo: Lev Shlosberg / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
On 23 March, the Commission on Political Rights of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation discussed the implementation of legislation by the law enforcement when initiating criminal and administrative cases, searches, detentions and arrests in February-March 2022. Nikolai Svanidze, Commission Chairman, historian and journalist, invited Lev Shlosberg, Chairman of the Pskov Yabloko, Lev Ponomaryov, human rights defender, and Denis Shadrin, lawyer of the human rights OVD-Info NGO, to the meeting.
On 22 March, the Yabloko Party University hosted a Zoom-lecture by Dr. Yevgeny Gontmakher on the topic: “A“special operation” in Ukraine: the consequences for the economy and citizens”. The lecturer is a professor at the Higher School of Economics, Doctor of Economics, Co-Chairman of the Public Constitutional Council, and an expert of the European Dialogue group.
The Yabloko Party University will host an online lecture by Grigory Yavlinsky “New Reality: Changes in Russia and in the World. Causes and consequences”. The lecture will take place on 29 March at 18:00. Grigory Yavlinsky is Chairman of the Federal Political Committee, Professor, Doctor of Economics.
On 23 March, deputies of the Moscow City Duma listened to the report of Oleg Baranov, head of the Moscow Police, on the work of the police in 2021.
As part of the report of the Chief of Moscow Police, the deputies were shown a video with statistical data. Thus, the police reported that 5,930 people were detained at unpermitted mass actions in 2021, 5,834 protocols on administrative offenses were drawn up, and 13 criminal cases were opened. 47,412 police officers worked at the elections of the State Duma deputies. According to the video, their work was recognised as impeccable.
Photo: Vladimir Yefimov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The police detained Vladimir Yefimov, Chairman of the Kamchatka Yabloko, Yefimov managed to tell Kam 24 media about his detention in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky:
“I was detained near my house. There were five police officers. They said that I had to go with them to clarify the circumstances. They say that Nazi symbols were allegedly published on my social networks. Now we are going to the department of the Centre for Combating Extremism,” Yefimov said.
He also added that he had never published images with symbols of Nazism on his social media accounts.
Photo: Michelle Bachelet / Photo from http://euro-ombudsman.org
Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov turned to international organisations with a proposal to help organise the exchange of wounded and captured soldiers in Ukraine and the bodies of the dead. The head of the party sent corresponding letters to Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, and Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
Today at 6:30 a.m., Daria Poryadina, a member of the Yabloko party and Editor of the periodical Sota, told her colleagues in the media that her flat was being searched. There has been no connection with Daria so far.
Photo: Yaroslav Shcherbakov and Vasily Moskovets / Photo from social networks
Yaroslav Shcherbakov, Chairman of the Chelyabinsk regional branch of the Yabloko party, and human rights activist Vasily Moskovets filed a lawsuit with the Chelyabinsk regional court demanding that the regional government must lift the ban on holding public events in the region, it imposed during the start of the “special military operation” in Ukraine referring to the coronavirus epidemic.
Photo: Lev Shlosberg / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Lev Shlosberg, Chairman of the Pskov branch of Yabloko, spoke on the air of radio PLN FM about the possibility of holding elections against the backdrop of Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine.
“Formally, Russia remains a republic, as is written in our Constitution. You can laugh, you can cry, but it says that Russia is a republic. And the republic is supposed to hold elections.
We see now that the authorities are preparing for elections or for the process that they call elections. The State Duma adopted a law abolishing the institution of members of election commissions with an advisory vote.
We demand not to turn the law enforcement into punitive bodies
Statement by the Yabloko party, 18.03.2022
Photo by Alexander Kazakov/Kommersant
Early in the morning of 18 March, the police, with the participation of riot police (OMON), searched the apartment of the Chairman of the Pskov Yabloko Lev Shlosberg, members of the Regional Council of the Pskov Yabloko Nikolai Kuzmin and Yekaterina Novikova, the parents of Nikolai Kuzmin, the parents of the Editor-in-Chief of the Pskovskaya Gubernia newspaper Denis Kamalyagin, in the house and apartment of journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva, and in the home of journalist Viktor Agafonov. The search was also carried out in the apartment of 93-year-old father of Lev Shlosberg.
Photo: Ruslan Zinatullin and Yelena Izotova / Photo from social networks
On 17 March, the police searched the homes of a number of civil activists and journalists in Kazan, including Ruslan Zinatullin, Chairman of Yabloko in Tatarstan, party activists Yelena Izotova and Gulnaz Ravilova.
