Press Release, December 12, 2013

Instead of presenting of a development strategy for Russia to the society, Vladimir Putin acted as an economic manager, Sergei Mitrokhin said. Vladimir Putin “even did not touch on the major problems of the country. Obviously, a very low level of non-resource exports is due … to the fact that our country virtually does not produce anything but for oil and gas,” Mitrokhin noted.

The President did not say anything about a sharp conflict between the government and the civil society, and on the ways and means of resolving it. Speaking about the success in solution of social problems, Vladimir Putin did not address the issue of social stratification, despite the fact that Russia was ranked one of the top countries of the world as of this parameter. The Head of State also said nothing about the arbitrariness of the law enforcement towards civil society activists.

“Vladimir Putin sparingly and fragmentary touched on the issue of corruption, which is one of the most important problems in the country,” Mitrokhin said.

YABLOKO leader also said that the President’s statement about the advantages of conservatism as a way to prevent the country’s sliding down was quite symbolic. “Vladimir Putin gave a clear signal that Russia will continue to move perpendicular to the European development vector. However, it is difficult to share his certainty that this movement will save our country from barbarism, vise versa, this movement is the main cause of degradation of the state – in the economy and the social sphere,” Mitrokhin noted.

“At the same time, the President included a number of topics into his address [to the Federal Assembly] that I had formulated during a [non-parliamentary parties’] meeting with him in the Kremlin: a need to ensure interethnic peace, mass-scale construction of housing and “deoffshorisation” of the economy,” he said.

YABLOKO leader also noted that measures on “deoffshorisation” of the economy mostly copy the proposals of the YABLOKO party, that he had personally handed to Vladimir Putin.

“However, not all the measures proposed by us were taken into account: [the Presidential Address] lacks the measures for ensuring full transparency of natural monopolies and organisations involved in the production and export of raw materials,” Mitrokhin said. YABLOKO leader also recollected that at the meeting with the President he had proposed the programme “Land-Housing-Roads” developed by the YABLOKO party and targeted at the provision of affordable housing for the middle class. Sergei Mitrokhin expressed his hope that the country would move in this direction.

“The President also voiced our demand for increased liability of those using the slave labour of illegal migrants. Only struggle against slave-owners can lead to reduction in illegal migration,” Mitrokhin added.

Sergei Mitrokhin also commented on some other issues of the address.

Mitrokhin noted that because of the resistance of the civil society the President did not say anything about elimination of local self-government in large cities and districts. “The President spoke about the future reform of local self-government, but did not determined its frameworks as had been expected. This is due to a firm public response to such a proposal. However, obviously attacks from federal and regional officials on local self-government will continue,” he said.

According to Mitrokhin, the President failed to find arguments in favour of the planned liquidation of the Supreme Arbitration Court. ” Putin spoke about the need for unified legal practices, but it is an artificial argument, as the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court adopted joint decisions on all the important issues at their joint plenary sessions. Unification of legal practices needed only raising the status of these joint plenary meetings”.

Also Sergei Mitrokhin negatively assessed the plans to “bring e-commerce in order”, as Vladimir Putin spoke about “full or partial ban on purchases for Russian citizens in foreign online stores”. “This measure is adopted in the interests of Russian monopolists. Today, for millions of Russians this is the only opportunity to buy goods at fair prices, rather than extremely high prices established by large networks – monopolists – the difference in prices may be 3-4 times”.

“In general the Presidential Address leaves a strange impression. We can suspect that it is meant to embellish and disguise the real Vladimir Putin’s policies aiming at maintaining of his power, protection of the interests of oligarchic clans, but in contrast to the text of the Address these policies have nothing to do with the interests of the Russian people,” Mitrokhin concluded.