Press release, 19.11.2018

On 18 November, a conference of the Chechen Republic branch of Yabloko took place where the new leading bodies where elected.

Rizvan Ibragimov was elected Chair of the regional party branch. He is a teacher of the Russian and Chechen languages at grammar school No 12 in Grozny. His deputies are Sharip Tsuruev, Edilbek Khasmagomedov and Alfatu Gaziyeva. Ruslan Magomedov was elected to the Regional Council Bureau. Sharip Tsuruev was also elected to the Federal Council of the Yabloko party.

Sharip Tsuruev, Nikolai Rybakov, Rizvan Ibragimov

Sharip Tsuruev is a Chechen writer, poet, journalist, philologist and translator. The Chechen branch of Yabloko was founded upon his initiative. He was Chair of the regional branch from 2004 to 2008.

Yabloko Deputy Chair Nikolai Rybakov and Federal Bureau Secretary Valery Goryachev participated in the conference.

“It is vital that the party works in the Chechen Republic. Our stance on the Chechen war defined the history of the party. Our activity and human rights protection is very important to the residents of the republic,” Nikolay Rybakov addressed the participants of the meeting.

The next day Rybakov attended the court hearing on the Oyub Titiyev case. Oyub Titiev is Chair of the Chechen branch of the Memorial human rights groups.

Yabloko claims that the criminal case against Titiev is the revenge of Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic. Today Emilia Slabunova forwarded a second appeal to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin demanding that Oyub Titiyev be released immediately.