Press release, 26.02.2015

On March 1 YABLOKO will conduct an antiwar action under the slogan “No war with Ukraine” at Tverskaya Street, Moscow.

The activists will form a chain structure from the State Duma to Moscow Mayor’s office on both sides of Tverskaya Street. The main slogans will be “War with Ukraine is the Kremlin’s shame!”, “War adventures lead to crisis”, “The Russians and Ukrainians are fraternal nations”.

[The Mayor’s Office denied the opposition forces the opportunity to hold a demonstration on March 1 in the centre of Moscow (from the Beloryssky railway station along Tverskaya street to the Revolution Square). Instead, [the Mayor’s Office] mockingly offered a route in a residential area in the ourskirts of the city.]

Tverskaya Street was chosen for picketing because the opposition demonstration was to take place there according to its organizers claim.

The action will take place at 1 p.m., two hours before the start of opposition march in the Maryino district. YABLOKO officially refused to participate in it. Sergei Mitrokhin called the proposal to conduct the action in Maryino [the outskirts of Moscow] rude and unconstitutional.

After the organisers of the march agreed with the route given by the authorities, Sergei Mitrokhin published an open letter to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin demanding to abolish the unlawful decision of the city authorities and authorize the march at Tverskaya Street.

“We claim that an antiwar action on this day, even a symbolic one, is of great importance. There will be several anti-crisis actions, but only one antiwar,” explained Secretary of YABLOKO Political Committee Galina Mikhaleva.

YABLOKO’s stance on the coming demonstration is different from those of other opposition forces. According to YABLOKO, the main reason for the economic crisis has become the war.

“The main slogan of the Russian democratic opposition should be the stop of interference in Ukraine’s affairs and stoppage of military actions in the territory of the fraternal country. This task is entirely within the competence of the political leadership of Russia. This demand must be uncompromising, one cannot water down and dissolve this request in the long list of claims to the authorities,” noted YABLOKO Political Committee members.

YABLOKO consider the extremely broad requirements of the demonstration – ”for all the good” – a mistake.

YABLOKO will also conduct anti-war actions in a number of Russia’s cities: St.Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Barnaul, Voronezh, Kazan.