Press Release, 26.01.2018

Municipal deputies of the Yakimanka municipal district from the Yabloko party together with the head of the Municipal Council Andrei Morev have initiated a local referendum on a number of issues, including transfer of the monument to Lenin from one of the central Moscow squares to the Museon Park which has a collection of different sculptures, including those from the Soviet era. Today they have handed their appeal to the reception room of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, the Moscow City Duma (the city parliament) and the Moscow Central Electoral Commission.

The municipal deputies (nine from Yabloko and one from United Russia) offer the Muscovites to decide on the referendum eight issues: three about the traffic in the area, three about monuments and two about infill constructions.

In particular, citizens will be asked about the transfer of the monument to Vladimir Lenin from the Kaluga Square to the Museon Park. Opinions of residents and deputies, whether there should be a monument in this square, diverge. Deputies also propose to conduct a survey on the installation of a monument to the first president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov in the city centre and a fountain in the park, named in his honour.

The monument was erected without any public discussion, although many residents were against it, Andrei Morev noted. Deputies appealed to the Mayor’s Office and the Moscow City Duma, but they replied that the monument should be in the area.

Another issue that is brought to the referendum concerns restriction of the maximum height of construction in the territory of Yakimanka, one of the central Moscow districts, by 30 meters.

“I believe that direct democracy is an important and necessary mechanism for decision-making. A referendum is one of the key instruments of direct democracy. It is with this goal in mind that we are trying to return to the city the possibility of holding referendums,” Morev noted.

Referendums are envisaged by Article 8 of the Law “On Referendums in the City of Moscow”. However, not a single referendum has been held in Moscow yet.

Deputies from Yakimanka District offer to hold a referendum on March 18, 2018, the day of the presidential election. This date was chosen in order the turnout to be high, because the referendum is recognised if 50 per cent of the residents take part in it.

In Moscow has not seen a single citywide or municipal referendum yet, although over 2,500 local referendums have been held in Russia for the past ten years. The Yabloko party stands for direct democracy and the right of the Muscovites to hold referendums.