Press Release, 15.04.2020

Chairman of the Yabloko party Nikolai Rybakov continues forwarding appeals to the heads of Russian regions. He calls for redirecting the funds allocated in the regional budgets for campaigning in the all-Russian voting for Vladimir Putin’s constitutional amendments to needs of healthcare and assistance to citizens in difficult life situations.

“14.8 billion roubles from the federal budget have already been allocated for the voting. Such expenses are not appropriate in normal times, and are impermissible during the pandemic.

Taxpayers’ money should be used to finance hospitals, salaries of doctors and medical personnel, and the purchase of personal protective equipment for doctors and hospital staff,” Nikolai Rybakov emphasised in his appeal.

The appeal was sent to the governors of 21 Russian region. These are the Amur, Belgorod, Bryansk, Vologda, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Saratov, Smolensk, Tula, Chelyabinsk regions and Trans-Baikal, Perm, Primorsky and Krasnoyarsk Territories; as well as to the heads of the Altai Republic, the Republic of Dagestan, the Republic of Karelia, the Republic of Komi.

These regions, according to the Yabloko party, have allocated funds for campaigning for Putin’s constitutional amendments in their budgets for 2020. The expenditures envisaged for these purposes range from 10 to 294 million roubles (the party has information on each of the above regions). They go in addition to the 14.8 billion roubles that have already been allocated for voting from the federal budget.

The Chairman of Yabloko believes that these funds are not mandatory for the regional budget, especially when the date of the all-Russian vote has been postponed for an indefinite period. According to Rybakov, the transfer of this money to support the population is especially important in the face of falling incomes, suspension of several sectors of the economy and threat to the existence of small and medium-sized businesses.

Thus, Yabloko calls heads of the following regions for redirecting the funds allocated in the regional budgets for campaigning in the all-Russian voting for Vladimir Putin’s constitutional amendments to needs of healthcare and assistance to citizens in difficult life situations:

Governor of the Amur Region Vasily Orlov – 36.9 million roubles;

Governor of the Belgorod Region Yevgeny Savchenko – 65.6 million roubles;

Governor of the Bryansk region Alexander Bogomaz – 25 million roubles;

Governor of the Vologda Region Oleg Kuvshinnikov – 49.6 million roubles;

Governor of the Ivanovo Region Stanislav Voskresensky – 10 million roubles;

Governor of the Kaliningrad Region Governor Anton Alikhanov – 50 million roubles;

Governor of the Kemerovo region Sergei Tsivilev – 75 million roubles;

Governor of the Kostroma Region Sergei Sitnikov – 18.2 million roubles;

Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Alexander Uss – 32.9 million roubles;

Governor of the Saratov Region Valery Radayev – 60 million roubles;

Governor of the Smolensk region Alexei Ostrovsky – 49.1 million roubles;

Governor of the Tula region Alexei Dyumin – 82.5 million roubles;

Governor of the Primorsky Territory Oleg Kozhemyako – 294.2 million roubles;

Governor of the Kirov region Igor Vasiliev – 49.7 million roubles;

Governor of the Transbaikal Territory Alexander Osipov – 166.4 million roubles;

Governor of the Perm Region Dmitry Makhonin – 83.9 million roubles;

Governor of the Chelyabinsk region Alexei Teksler – 131.1 million roubles;

The head of the Komi Republic, Vladimir Uybu – 49.7 million roubles;

The Head of the Altai Republic Oleg Khorokhordin – 10 million roubles;

Head of the Republic of Dagestan Vladimir Vasiliev – 96.9 million;

The head of the Republic of Karelia Arthur Parfenchikov – 30 million roubles.