In his keynote speech Grigory Yavlinsky pointed out the basis of the problems which have been following Russia over the past decades. “Today our main obstacle on the way to the future is becoming not even Putin and his system but frustration and apathy. Such rival is as serious as those who sit in the Kremlin and the State Duma. When the majority [of the people] in the country are apathetic, those who are fringes start to run the show, set and dictate the agenda,” YABLOKO founder noted.

Yavlinsky also defined the basic value which will become the foundation of his election campaign: “My key idea is that a person is above any ideology. I insist that the only true national idea for the whole Russia is Respect. Respect for a person.”

Chairperson Emilia Slabunoba proposed Yavlinsky’s candidature. “He embodies an alternative to Putin and his system, he presents an alternative image of the future, values, priorities which fundamentally differ from Russia’s politics of today. He is the leader who we trust,” Slabunova said.

She stressed that in modern political history Yavlinsky was associated with direct efforts towards the development of true democracy and competitive economy: “Grigory Yavlinsky will become the president whose foreign policy will be the policy of making friends, not enemies.”

Vladimir Ryzhkov said that the opposition must nominate a single presidential candidate. “There is no doubt that this person is fully committed to the values of democracy, liberty, peaceful foreign policy, human right and fundamental rights and freedoms. He proved it with all his life,” Ryzhkov noted.

More information on the Congress can be found on YABLOKO‘s website.