Decision by the Yabloko Bureau, 16.12.2021

The position of the Yabloko party on government bills on QR codes and necessary priority measures to combat the spread of coronavirus infection

Update. The party’s position was sent to the Government of the Russian Federation and the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

Photo by Artyom Krasnov / Kommersant

The Yabloko party declares that a person’s right to a healthy life, without an increased risk of infection and infecting his/her loved ones, must be protected. Deliberate refusal from vaccination, often based on pseudoscientific and conspiracy theories, turns into a “right” to infect other people and expose their lives and the lives of their loved ones to danger, and runs counter to the fundamental value – the human right to life.

Restrictions for visiting public places, as well as for travel by rail and air transport can be introduced as a forced measure to stimulate vaccination, but at the same time they should be part of a unified state policy to protect citizens from coronavirus infection.

The Ybloko party believes that the bills* developed by the Government of the Russian Federation cannot be supported in the present form. We believe they require significant development and a real public discussion that has not taken place.

We believe that the measures taken by the Government of the Russian Federation should not violate the rights and discriminate against people who were vaccinated with foreign vaccines, had the infection without turning to medical institutions, but have a high level of neutralising antibodies to COVID-19 and those who, due to medical errors, were not diagnosed a new coronavirus infection, but who have developed a high level of immunity to COVID-19.

The Yabloko party is convinced that the introduction of restrictions must be accompanied by the adoption of measures that will not allow to use these restrictions so that to violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens. If Russia were today a democratic, not an authoritarian state, there would be no such fears. Yabloko considers it necessary to consolidate guarantees that these restrictions will be lifted immediately after normalisation of the epidemiological situation in Russia.

The Yabloko party notes the catastrophic inefficiency of the actions of the Russian authorities during the pandemic – in terms of the morbidity rate, Russia is among the group of countries with the most unfavorable situation as of the pandemic.

The authorities completely failed the vaccination programme, provoking, by their propaganda actions and deliberate discrediting of foreign vaccines, citizens’ distrust of the Russian vaccine.

The adoption of multidirectional measures causes a general distrust of citizens in the measures taken and significantly reduces their efficiency. By introducing lockdowns and selectively restricting citizens’ access to certain public places, prohibiting even single pickets under the pretext of a pandemic, manipulating for its own purposes the statistics of sick and dead from infection, the authorities “forgot” about the coronavirus danger when it was necessary to vote on amendments to the Constitution and conduct mass festivities, thereby only increasing public distrust in their actions.

The Yabloko party considers it necessary to conduct the following urgent measures:

– Immediately provide the World Health Organisation with all the necessary documents and materials for the recognition of the Sputnik V vaccine by WHO;

– Allow all the vaccines registered by WHO for use in the Russian Federation and recognise them in the territory of Russia;

– Make it as easy as possible for Russian citizens to access vaccination in all regions of the country;

– Ensure the issuance of certificates with QR codes to all citizens who have medical contraindications or who have recovered from COVID-19 (having a high level of neutralising antibodies determined by the healthcare authorities), regardless of whether they have applied to medical institutions and whether they have been officially diagnosed COVID-19. Before vaccination, provide mandatory free testing for the level of neutralising COVID-19 antibodies and PCR tests;

– Provide free distribution of personal protective equipment to citizens and their use in public places (following the example of installing sanitizers in the Moscow metro);

– In all regions of the Russian Federation provide for elderly people, people with limited mobility and those not having computer literacy, the possibility of vaccination at home (and deliver vaccination certificates to their homes);

– Completely abandon the use of the coronavirus threat to selectively restrict public events (primarily in the form of single pickets);

– Introduce material incentives for those vaccinated (who in the perspective will save money for their treatment) and provide for life and health insurance at the expense of the federal budget for all vaccinated;

– Monitor strict adherence to the “mask mode” in public transport.

Yabloko considers it unacceptable to grant governors the right to establish and expand the list of public places where access is restricted to citizens who do not have a QR code.

Yabloko stands for stimulating voluntary vaccination and preventing violations of citizens’ rights.

Nikolai Rybakov,

Yabloko Chairman

* Draft Federal Law “On Amendments to Article 107 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation and the Federal Law “The Bylaws of Railway Transport of the Russian Federation” (on ensuring measures to protect the population in the context of the spread of a new coronavirus infection during transportation by domestic and international flights and long-distance trains) and the draft Federal Law “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On the Sanitary and Epidemiological Well-Being of the Population” (regarding the introduction of certain restrictive measures in order to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus infection).