Press Release, 23.08.2016

Today YABLOKO Moscow election campaign headquarters opened in Bolshoi Kislovsky lane in the heart of Moscow. The event brought together several hundred volunteers, who up to the Day of Silence on the threashold of the voting day 18 September will be convincing Moscow residents to come to the polls. The meeting was attended by Emilia Slabunova, YABLOKO Chairperson, and Grigory Yavlinsky, the party founder and head of its Federal Political Committee.

“Today, we have brought here people who have been with us for many days. We train them intensively, working 24/7. The core of the team are young people aged 18 – 30, students or graduates, those who demand changes [in the Russian politics]. They are tired [of the present situation], but do not want to leave the country. YABLOKO is their chance. We want to give them the feeling of freedom at least in this headquarters during those days,” Kirill Goncharov, head of the campaign headquarters, said.

He also added that YABLOKO Moscow volunteers base has about 400 people today.

“About 300 out of these people have gone through [our] trainings, prepared what they would tell to voters. We will concentrate 80 campaign “cubes” [with our leaflets] in the territory of the Central Administrative District of Moscow. Simultaneously we will collect signatures for the return of referendums to Russia’s capital. We also hold a series of pickets in the city. Our activists will collect signatures and distribute campaign literature, ” Goncharov said. He added that YABLOKO will have campaign buses in the residential districts of Moscow.

According to Goncharov, changing of Moscow legislation so that to simplify conducting referendums in the city should be the next challenge after a successful election campaign. At present conducting a plebiscite requires collection of at least 150,000 signatures of Muscovites. Since yesterday YABLOKO began collecting signatures in support of such change of the Moscow law and will work for it in the State Duma.

Emilia Slabunova, YABLOKO Chair, and Grigory Yavlinsky, the party founder and head of its Federal Political Committee, came to the meeting to tell the young people about political goals of the party. The volunteers met them with a storm of applause.

Emilia Slabunova noted in her speech that “the future is not simply knocking on the door, it is bursting in every window and every hole”.

“The present government is not ready to meet the challenges of the time, to meet the future. It has different goals and objectives: it strives to preserve itself. But the future comes where it is expected. YABLOKO has a plan how to build a prosperous Russia. The YABLOKO party believes that politics can and must be honest. To do this, two conditions are required: so that honest people come into politics, and so that they are further replaced, rather than be in power for 16 years or more. YABLOKO has people who are willing to open doors to the future and keep them open all the time. And these people are you. Because it is your future. You will find all the right words and be persuasive to those who doubt, will take them by the hand and lead those who are afraid, and encourage those who are afraid, ” she said.

Grigory Yavlinsky expressed his confidence that the basis for successful development of the country was respect for its people.

“It is important that there is a programme, and we have it, but people do not believe that someone may be able to implement programmes. Why don’t they believe in it? People feel that they are not respected, not asked of their opionin, decisions are taken without them. Our country develops so slowly and sloppily, because people do not feel that they are respected. We want to get the governments listen to us. We want to be heard, rather than bugged. The new YABLOKO is a tool which will help to get this respect,” he stressed.

Slabunova and Yavlinsky also answered questions from the volunteers about the development of education and economy in the country, as well as the ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

According to Kirill Goncharov, the Moscow headquarters will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“It [the headquarters] will function 24/7. We have night shifts, day shifts and morning shifts. In the morning we will conduct trainings for volunteers and do our planning. In the afternoon we will gather to conduct operational work. And in the evening there will be an informal part. We will have public, open lectures, concerts and musical performances [by most popular Russian groups],” Goncharov said.

According to him, some artists refused for political reasons, fearing that after this they may be closed access to concerts.

Moscow election headquarters of the YABLOKO party is located at Bolshoi Kislovskiy 4, Building 3 (Metro stations Arbatskaya, Boblioteka Imeni Lenina, Okhotny Ryad or Teatralnaya). Tel: 8 800 505 61 48.