The Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko (RUDP Yabloko; rus, Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко», Rossiyskaya obyedinyonnaya demokraticheskaya partiya "Yabloko", ˈjabɫəkə, ru-яблоко.ogg, ) is a

social-liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited ...

political party in Russia. The party consequently participated in the elections of deputies of the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of all eight convocations. Until 2003, Yabloko was represented by a faction in the

and later until 2007 by individual deputies. In March 2002, the party became a full member of the

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...

, and since November 1998, it has been in observer status. The founder of the party

Grigory Yavlinsky Grigory Alekseyevich Yavlinsky (; born 10 April 1952) is a Russian economist and politician. He has held numerous positions in the Soviet and Russian governments across different levels, including in the State Duma. Yavlinsky was one of auth ...

is an honorary vice-president of the

and winner of its Prize for Freedom. Yabloko was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) from 2006 to 2025. As of 2021, the party was represented by factions in 4 regional parliaments of the Russian Federation. In addition, members of the party were deputies of 13 administrative centers of the subjects of the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, 183 representatives of the party were municipal deputies in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and 84 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. The party also advocates for the protection of the rights of LGBT people in Russia.

History

The party dates back to the early 1990s. Originally established as a public organization in 1993, it transformed into a political party in 2001. From 1993–2003, the party had a small faction in the

; in 2003, four single-mandate deputies passed from Yabloko to the Duma: one of them joined

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

, and three joined the informal group of independent democrats. After the tightening of Russian legislation in 2011, only 7 registered political parties remained in Russia, among which was Yabloko. In 2011, the party managed to obtain the right to state funding, which allowed further functioning of the organization. As a result of the 2016 elections, the party is not receiving any state funding any further.

Emergence of the Party (1993–2002)

The immediate predecessor of the Yabloko party was the electoral bloc Yavlinsky-Boldyrev-Lukin, formed for the legislative elections of 1993. "Yabloko" is an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

of the names of its founders: "Я" (Ya) for

; "Б" (B) for Yury Boldyrev, and "Л" (L) for Vladimir Lukin, with the full name meaning "Apple" in Russian. The bloc included several political parties: the Republican, the Social Democratic, and the Russian Christian Democratic Union – New Democracy. The Yabloko bloc in the 1993 elections received 7.86% of the vote, as a result of which the Yabloko faction was created in the State Duma In January

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Yabloko was transformed into a public association after holding a founding congress. Yavlinsky became the head of the central council. Already during this period, there were some changes in the leadership. In

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

part of the representatives of the Republican Party, headed by Vladimir Lysenko, left the bloc. At the same time, the Regional Center Party from

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

joined Yabloko as a regional organization. In September 1995, due to disagreements on some fundamental issues, Yury Boldyrev left the association as well. The Yabloko public association was able to form factions based on the results of the elections to the State Duma in 1995 and 1999. In 1995, in the elections to the State Duma of the 2nd convocation, the Yabloko association received 6.89% of the vote. In the elections of the State Duma of the III convocation in 1999 Yabloko association made an alliance with

Sergei Stepashin Sergei Vadimovich Stepashin (; born 2 March 1952) is a Russian politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of Russia in 1999. Prior to this he had been appointed as federal security minister for counterintelligence by President Boris Yeltsin ...

, including him as number three of the party list. According to the results of the vote count, the party received 5.93% of the votes. Yabloko during the entire period of President Yeltsin became the "democratic opposition" to the president's policies. For example, Yabloko opposed

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

conducted by

Anatoly Chubais Anatoly Borisovich Chubais (; born 16 June 1955) is a Russian- Israeli politician and economist who was responsible for privatization in Russia as an influential member of Boris Yeltsin's administration in the early 1990s. During this period, ...

, and offered an alternative program in 1998, which stated that privatization was carried out in an economically senseless and socially detrimental way, passing control of sold organizations to the “directors” with several backdrop nominal owners. During the 1996 elections, Yavlinsky was offered to join the government. As a condition to join Yabloko's leader demanded an end to hostilities in Chechnya and to make serious adjustments to the socio-economic policy. In addition, he demanded the resignation of Prime Minister

Viktor Chernomyrdin Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (, ; 9 April 19383 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union (13 February 1985 – 17 July 1989), after which he became first chairm ...

, head of the Security Service of the President of the Russian Federation Alexander Korzhakov, First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Soskovets, Defense Minister

Pavel Grachev Pavel Sergeyevich Grachev (; 1 January 1948 – 23 September 2012), sometimes transliterated as Grachov or Grachyov, was a Russian Army General and the Defence Minister of the Russian Federation from 1992 to 1996; in 1988 he was awarded Hero ...

, head of the presidential administration

Nikolai Yegorov Nikolay Dmitriyevich Yegorov (; 3 May 1951 – 25 April 1997) was a Russian politician. He was the Governor of Krasnodar Kray in 1992-1994 and in 1996–1997, Minister for the Ethnic Affairs of the Russian Federation in 1994–1995 and the repres ...

, director of the FSS Mikhail Barsukov. Since these conditions were not accepted, Yavlinsky and his team did not enter the government. Some members of the Yabloko faction nevertheless accepted the proposals of the executive branch. Mikhail Zadornov and Oksana Dmitrieva became members of the government, for which they were expelled from the party. Also, Ivan Grachev and Vyacheslav Igrunov left Yabloko. In May 1999, the Yabloko faction voted for the

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

of President Yeltsin. The bulk of the

deputies supported the accusation of the president of unleashing war in Chechnya and 24 deputies voted for the impeachment of Yeltsin on charges of an armed dispersal of the Supreme Council in October 1993. Yabloko, however, refused to support other articles of accusations, including the article proposed by the

Communist Party of the Russian Federation The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF; ) is a communist political party in Russia that officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist philosophy. It is the second-largest political party in Russia after United Russia. The youth o ...

about the "genocide of the Russian people." Yabloko criticized presidential and government policies and regularly voted against draft state budgets submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers to the

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

. On August 16, 1999, 18 members of the Yabloko faction, including Yavlinsky, voted for the appointment of

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

as Prime Minister, 4 members abstained, 8 voted against, and 15 did not vote. In May 2000, 4 deputies of the Yabloko faction voted for the appointment of Mikhail Kasyanov as prime minister, 8 members voted against and 4 abstained. Yabloko also supported a bill developed with the participation of faction deputy Mikhail Zadornov on the introduction of a flat income tax instead of a progressive taxation scale. Since Putin was never supported by a majority of Yabloko members, the party found itself in fierce opposition to the government, criticizing the government during the remaining term of the State Duma of the third convocation, especially as parliamentary elections approached. In December 2001, on the basis of the all-Russian political public organization Yabloko and the Party of

Social Liberalism Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

the ''Russian Democratic Party Yabloko'' was officially created, which advocates the European path of development of the Russian Federation and is a member of several international and European organizations. Since November 1998, the Yabloko association has had observer status with the

and participated in its events. At the 51st Congress of the

, held on March 21–23, 2002 in Budapest, the Yabloko party was accepted into the ranks of this international organization as a full member. On April 26, 2002, the Russian Democratic Party Yabloko (Reg. No. 5018) was registered by the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

was elected chairman of the party.

Political party (2002 to present)

According to the deputy chairman of Yabloko, Sergei Ivanenko, in 2002 the party had 20,000 members. In June 2003, the Yabloko faction voted for a vote of no confidence in the government, which, however, was not approved by the Duma. Since 2003, Yabloko's position has worsened. In the 2003 State Duma elections, the Yabloko party received 4.3% of the vote (less than the 5% threshold) and did not receive seats in the

on party lists (only 4 candidates from the party went through single-mandate constituencies). Interestingly, the fact that

called

at night, during the counting of votes, with congratulations on the victory, became widely known. After the joining of Green Russia and Soldiers' Mothers in 2006, the name of the party was changed to the Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" (RODP "Yabloko"). Since 2006, the Yabloko party has become part of the European party Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). Sergey Mitrokhin became party chairman in 2008. In the 2007 elections, only 1.59% of voters voted for Yabloko, and the party did not enter the State Duma again. In 2008 the party had 58,540 members. In the 2011 elections according to official data from the CEC, 3.43% of voters (2.25 million people) voted for Yabloko. In these elections, the party more than doubled its result but still did not get into the

. However, this result gave Yabloko the possibility of state funding. In 2012 Yabloko leader

was not registered by the Central Election Commission as a candidate for the presidential elections. In 2021 the party had 16,100 members. In the elections to the State Duma of 2021, Grigory Yavlinsky for the first time in the history of the party refused to run for deputies, and the federal list of candidates was headed by Yabloko chairman Nikolay Rybakov. 1.34% of voters voted for Yabloko (750 000 people). On October 14, 2021, the Federal Political Committee of the party decided to withdraw from the election candidates who supported the idea of

Smart Voting Smart Voting () is a tactical voting strategy put forward by the team of Alexei Navalny with the aim of depriving the ruling United Russia party of votes in regional and federal elections. The goal of Smart Voting is to consolidate the votes ...

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...

. Several Yabloko members criticized the party's policies and demanded the leadership to resign. On October 26, 2021, the members of the

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

regional branch of Yabloko published a statement, in which they demanded that the central political committee of the party be dismissed due to the adoption of the so-called “Yavlinsky blacklist”, which lead to the suspension of the activities of the branch. On November 19, 2021, the federal bureau of Yabloko appointed the re-registration of party members prior to the upcoming party congress in December

Russian invasion of Ukraine and stance on war in Ukraine

On February 13, 2022, Yabloko published a petition against a possible war with Ukraine. Yabloko is opposing Russia's 2022 attack on Ukraine and has been taking part in protests against the war. After the beginning of the invasion, the Federal Political Committee of the party declared

''“Yabloko expresses its categorical protest against the outbreak of hostilities against Ukraine. This war is Russia's war with the objective course of history, a war against time, a tragic fall from the reality of the modern world. The consequences of this war will last for a very long time, but now, first of all, it is a tragedy, suffering, and death of people, and this will never be corrected. The reason for the tragedy is lies, cruelty, and absolute indifference to the people of the Russian authorities. The Yabloko party considers the war with Ukraine to be the gravest crime. We believe that this war is contrary to the national interests of Russia and destroys the future of Russia.”''

On February 28, 2022, the Yabloko factions in the parliaments of Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Pskov region, and Karelia tried to initiate appeals from their legislative assemblies to President Putin with a call to immediately stop hostilities on the territory of Ukraine and start peace negotiations with international mediation, withdraw military units to places of permanent deployment, to exchange prisoners on the principle of “all for all”. Several members of the Yabloko party in various regions were detained for participating in anti-war protests.

Organizational structure

RUDP Yabloko consists of regional branches, one per subject of the federation, regional branches from local branches, one per urban district or municipal district, local branches from primary branches, and one per urban settlement or rural settlement. * The supreme body is the Congress, between Congresses – is the Federal Council, between the Federal Councils – is the Political Committee, the executive body is the Bureau, the highest official is the chairman, the highest control body is the Party Arbitration, the highest audit body is the Control and Auditing Commission. * The supreme body of the regional branch is the Conference, between Conferences is the Regional Council, the executive body of the regional branch is the Bureau of the Regional Council, the highest official of the regional branch is the chairman of the regional branch, the audit body of the regional branch is the Control and Audit Commission of the regional branch. * The supreme body of the local branch is the Conference, between Conferences – the Council of the Local Branch, the executive body of the local branch – is the Bureau of the Council of the local branch, and the highest official of the local branch is the chairman of the local branch. * The supreme body of the primary branch is the General Meeting, between General Meetings is the Council of the primary branch, and the highest official of the primary branch is the chairman of the primary branch.

Leadership

The first chairman of the party (1993–2008) was

. In 1995 Vladimir Lukin and Yury Boldyrev were elected vice-chairmen (he left Yabloko in the same year). Since 1996 Vladimir Lukin has become the first deputy chairman of the party, and Sergey Ivanenko and Vyacheslav Igrunov have been the deputies. In 2000–2001, Vladimir Lukin was again the only deputy chairman of the party. In 2001–2004, Lukin served as the first deputy chairman of the party, while the deputy chairmen were

Alexei Arbatov Alexei Georgievich Arbatov (Russian: Алексей Георгиевич Арбатов, born January 17, 1951) is a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Head of the Center for International Security at the Institute of World E ...

, Igor Artemiev, Sergei Ivanenko,and Sergey Mitrokhin. In 2004–2008, the first deputy chairman of the party was Sergei Ivanenko, deputy chairmen were

, Igor Artemyev, and Sergey Mitrokhin. The posts of deputy chairman until 2007 were also presented by Sergey Popov, Galina Khovanskaya, and

Irina Yarovaya Irina Anatolyevna Yarovaya (; born 17 October 1966) née Chernyakhovskaya is a Russian political figure, a List of Deputy Chairmen of the State Duma, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma from United Russia Party and a member of her party's General ...

. After joining the party of the Green Russia movement, the post of deputy chairman of the party in 2006–2008 was held by Alexei Yablokov. At the XV Party Congress on June 21–22, 2008, Mitrokhin was elected the second chairman of Yabloko. In 2008–2015, the posts of deputy chairmen of the party were abolished. The next party leadership elections were held at the XVIII Congress of Yabloko on December 19–20, 2015. Emilia Slabunova became the third chairman of the Yabloko party, and Alexander Gnezdilov, Sergei Ivanenko, and Nikolay Rybakov were elected as her deputies. At the XXI Congress on December 15, 2019, Nikolay Rybakov was elected the new chairman of the party. Sergey Ivanenko, Boris Vishnevsky, and Ivan Bolshakov became his deputies.

Federal Political Committee

The Federal Political Committee is the collegiate governing body of the party. It formulates the party's position on major political issues between congresses; makes submissions to the party's federal bureau on key personnel appointments; makes decisions on the volumes and main directions of financing the activities of the party; organizes the work of the federal council of the party and convenes its meetings. The Federal Political Committee has the right to convene extraordinary congresses of the Party. * Arbatov Alexei Georgievich – head of the Center for International Security of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, full member of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

* Artemyev Igor Yurievich – head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, Candidate of Biological Sciences. * Borschev Valery Vasilyevich – co-chairman of the

Moscow Helsinki Group The Moscow Helsinki Group (also known as the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group, ) was one of Russia's leading human rights organisations. It was originally set up in 1976 to monitor Soviet compliance with the Helsinki Accords and to report to the West ...

, co-chairman of the Human Rights faction of the party * Bunimovich Yevgeny Abramovich – deputy of the Moscow City Duma, laureate of the Russian Government Prize in the field of education
Honored Teacher of Russia
Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences * Vishnevsky Boris Lazarevich – deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, publicist, political scientist, laureate of the Golden Pen of Russia award, candidate of technical sciences. * Gannushkina Svetlana Alekseevna –

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist, chairman of the

Civic Assistance Committee The Civic Assistance Committee (Komitet Grazhdanskoe Sodeistvie) is a Russian NGO which campaigns for human rights, particularly with regard to immigrants and refugees in Russian society.

, and

Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob vo ...

winner in 2016 * Gnezdilov Alexandr Valentinovich – Theater director, artistic director of the Creative Association "Gnezdo" * Dubrovina Elena Pavlovna – head of the Center for Legislative Initiatives of the Party, Honored Lawyer of Russia, PhD in Law * Ivanenko Sergey Viktorovich – deputy chairman of the Party, Candidate of Economic Sciences * Konnychev Dmitry Viktorovich – Director of the Fund for the Support of Innovative Education, Director of the private educational institution "Lyceum Boarding School of Natural Sciences", Candidate of Political Sciences * Misnik Boris Grigorievich – coordinator of the Federal Political Committee of the Party * Mitrokhin Sergey Sergeyevich – deputy of the Moscow City Duma, candidate of political sciences * Rybakov Nikolay Igorevich – chairman of the Party, member of the Bureau of the Party * Slabunova Emilia Edgardovna – deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia, Honored Teacher of Russia, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences * Sheinis Viktor Leonidovich – chief researcher of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Economics * Shlosberg Lev Markovich – head of the Pskov regional branch of the party, deputy of the Pskov regional Assembly of deputies, laureate of the Golden Pen of Russia award * Yavlinsky Grigory Alekseyevich – chairman of the Political Committee, founder and first chairman of the party, Doctor of Economics, Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics

Federal Bureau

The Federal Bureau of the Party is the permanent governing body of the party. The Federal Bureau makes political decisions and makes statements on behalf of the party by the decisions of the Political Committee, approves the estimates of income and expenses of the party, the procedure for receiving and spending funds, and the report on their implementation by the decisions of the Political Committee, exercises the rights of a legal entity on behalf of the party and performs its duties in accordance with the party charter, and also exercises other powers in accordance with the party charter. * Babushkin Andrei Vladimirovich – chairman of the public human rights charitable organization Committee "For Civil Rights", member of the Presidential Human Rights Council * Boldyreva Galina Vasilievna – chairman of the Volgograd regional branch of the party, President of the Volgograd regional public organization Club "Ecology" * Bolshakov Ivan Viktorovich – political scientist, head of the analytical department of the party * Vishnevsky Boris Lazarevich – deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, publicist, political scientist, member of the Federal Political Committee, Candidate of Technical Sciences * Golov Anatoly Grigoryevich – head of the Social Democratic faction of the party, co-chairman of th
Union of Consumers of Russia
* Goncharenko Alexander Ilyich – chairman of the Altai Regional Branch of the Party, Honorary President of the Public Monitoring Commission of the Altai Territory, laureate of the Moscow Helsinki Group Prize in the field of human rights protection * Goncharov Kirill Alekseyevich – deputy chairman of the Moscow Regional Branch of the Party * Goryachev Valery Sergeyevich – lawyer, head of the central apparatus of the party, executive secretary of the Bureau of the party * Grishin Grigory Aleksandrovich – deputy chairman of the Saratov regional branch of the party, candidate of philological sciences * Dorokhov Vladimir Yurievich – chairman of the Tula regional branch of the party * Efimov Alexander Vladimirovich – member of the regional council of the Volgograd regional branch of the party * Ivanenko Sergey Viktorovich – deputy chairman of the Party, member of the Federal Political Committee of the Party, Candidate of Economic Sciences * Kolokolova Olga Arkadievna – chairman of the Perm regional branch of the party * Kruglov Maxim Sergeyevich – head of the Yabloko faction in the

Moscow City Duma The Moscow City Duma (, commonly abbreviated to ) is the Regional parliaments of Russia, regional parliament (city duma) of Moscow, a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject and the capital city of Russia. As Moscow is one of Federal cities ...

, deputy chairman of the Moscow regional branch of the party, candidate of political sciences * Mutsolgov Ruslan Adamovich – chairman of the regional branch of the party in the Republic of Ingushetia * Petlin Maxim Anatolyevich – deputy chairman of the Sverdlovsk regional branch of the party * Rybakov Nikolay Igorevich – chairman of the Party, member of the Bureau of the Party * Talevlin Andrey Aleksandrovich – ecologist, deputy chairman of the

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

regional branch of the party * Tsepilova Olga Dmitrievna – chairman of the faction "Green Russia" of the party, candidate of sociological sciences * Cherepanova Anna Fedorovna – deputy of the City Duma of

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the ...

, chairman of the Novgorod regional branch of the party

= Control and Audit Commission

= * Zinatullin Ruslan Mansurovich – chairman of the regional branch of the party in the

Republic of Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...

* Kushpita Dmitry Yurievich – chairman of the Vladimir regional branch of the party, former deputy of the Council of People's Deputies of Vladimir * Monin Vadim Vladimirovich * Shkred Tatyana Valerievna * Lysenko Kirill Yevgenyevich

= Exclusion of members

= Over the entire history of the party, several prominent party members were excluded, who became prominent politicians on their own: Oksana Dmitriyeva,

, Maxim Reznik, Maxim Katz, and Ilya Yashin. The period of Sergey Mitrokhin was marked not only by the exclusion of members but also by the suspension of the powers of the regional branches. It was the case in party regional branches in Omsk, Belgorod (for cooperation with United Russia party), Bryansk (for the removal of the chairman of the local branch – candidate for governor of the region Andrei Ponomarev – from the elections in the interests of the current governor of the region Nikolai Denin, later accused of corruption), Krasnodar (for violating party discipline), St. Petersburg, and several other branches. In 2020, the Federal leadership of Yabloko decided to exclude the chairman of the Novosibirsk branch , and three of her associates from the party. The leadership considered that they "did not comply with the decision of the party bureau and publicly declared their disagreement with it, which caused political damage to the party". In addition to Kaverzina, Anton Nelidov, Mikhail Ryazantsev, and Vyacheslav Udintsev lost their membership in the party. Also in 2020, the Federal Bureau of Yabloko expelled other 16 people from the party, including Maxim Katz, co-founder of the City Projects Foundation. The decision of the bureau announced that Katz tried to gain control over the Moscow branch of the party by creating an "artificial majority" of his supporters who voted unanimously. Katz announced his intention to appeal the bureau's decision. In 2021, mass expulsions from the party as part of the “fight against katzism” and for signing open appeals of party members to the Congress continued. At least 98 members were expelled from the Moscow branch (according to one of the excluded – more than 200). The expelled members announced that they would form a new, independent from the party leadership organization, as well as that the current leadership of the party "is conducting a systematic fight against civil society", "justifies the repressions" and "accuses those who fight against them". The creation of the public movement "Yabloko" was announced, the declared aim to return the party under the control of their like-minded people or creating a new legal entity. In addition, 189 members were denied registration, and 488 were suspended, depriving them of the right to any form of participation in internal elections. Many suspended party members consider this action to be inconsistent with the law on political parties and challenge it in court.

Local representation

Federal authorities and advisory structures under them

* Andrey Babushkin, a member of the Yabloko Bureau, is a member of the Presidential human Rights Council

Authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation

* Aslan Khapachev works as the head of the department of the

Federal Antimonopoly Service The Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia (FAS) () is the federal-level executive governmental organ that controls the execution of the antitrust law and related areas. The FAS was established by President Vladimir Putin through Decree #314, ...

of the Russian Federation in

Adygea Adygea ( ), officially the Republic of Adygea or the Adygean Republic, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is a part of the Southern Federal District, and covers an a ...

* The ex-chairman of the Buryat Yabloko, Natalya Tumureeva holds the position of Deputy Minister of Natural Resources of the

Republic of Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in the Russian Far East. Formerly part of the Siberian Federal District, it has been administered as part of the Far Eastern Federal District sin ...

Yabloko in the parliaments of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation

* Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg – 2 deputies ( Boris Vishnevskiy, Alexandr Shishlov). *

Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia The Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia () is the regional parliament of Karelia, a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It consists of 36 deputies who are elected for five-year terms. Between 1994 and 2002, it was ...

– 2 deputies (Emilia Slabunova, Inna Boluchevskaya). * Pskov Oblast Assembly of Deputies – 1 deputy (Artur Gaiduk).

Election results

Presidential election

State Duma elections

Regional parliamentary elections

Regional parliaments of Russia The regional parliaments of Russia are the regional legislatures in the federal subjects of Russia (republics, krais, oblasts, autonomous oblasts and federal cities), which have different names but are often collectively referred to as regio ...

in which Yabloko is represented.

Election results (regional)

Following the results of the elections on December 4, 2011 to the regional parliaments, Yabloko formed its own factions in three regions:

(6 seats out of 50 in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg:

became the head of the faction),

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

(4 seats out of 50 in the

), Pskov Region (1 deputy seat out of 44 in the Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies). In the elections on December 4, 2011, the Yabloko party received 6.72% of votes on party lists to the Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies, to the Legislative Assembly of the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...

– 7.13% of the votes, to the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg – 12 .50%.

Ideology

Political memorandum

In 2015, Yabloko adopted a Political Memorandum, which is a summary of the party's ideology. The new version of the memorandum was adopted in 2019. The document, in support of its provisions, must be signed by Yabloko candidates in elections at all levels. Contents of the memorandum: # Our country needs deep and comprehensive political reforms aimed at moving from an authoritarian system of power to a real separation of powers, independent, fair and merciful justice, full-fledged local self-government, transparency of the legislative and executive authorities and their accountability to citizens, to fair elections and depoliticization of law enforcement agencies. #

Bolshevism Bolshevism (derived from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Leninist and later Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined p ...

and

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

are misanthropic ideologies and practices. The state must give a legal assessment of the coup d'état of 1917–1918 and the heinous crimes that followed. #

Nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

and religious

fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguis ...

in any form and manifestation are unacceptable. # The transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one must be peaceful, non-violent and carried out in a legal, constitutional way. # An immediate cessation of the arms race, a renunciation of state propaganda for war,

militarization Militarization, or militarisation, is the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state. The process of mil ...

of the country, threats and intimidation in foreign policy is necessary. # It is necessary to completely separate business and property from the authorities (which were merged due to the erroneous policies of the 1990s and 2000s), and to refuse to support

oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or throug ...

business from the budget. The transition from a resource-based economy to a modern high-tech economy is obligatory. # It is necessary openly and publicly investigate all facts of corruption in the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

, the Presidential Administration, law enforcement agencies, state companies and state corporations. The perpetrators must be punished, whoever it may concern. # Political repressions must be stopped, all repressive laws restricting

and freedoms, enshrined in the second chapter of the

Constitution of the Russian Federation The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections ...

(including the anti-orphan law, restriction of the right to rallies, conferring the status of a "foreign agent" on NGOs and the law on undesirable foreign organizations) must be abolished. It is necessary to abolish censorship in the media, social networks and culture, stop the arbitrary blocking the Internet resources. # Russia must recognize the sovereignty of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

within the 2013 borders, stop supporting crime and separatists, inciting hatred and propaganda for war. The solution of the Crimean issue is possible in accordance with the road map developed within the framework of a specially convened international conference. # A worthy and successful future for Russia can only be based on the values of freedom,

, the principles of

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, the rule of law and the inviolability of

private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...

The process of ideological self-determination of the party

Yabloko arose and developed in line with the democratic movement as an alliance of political groups representing various ideological currents – liberals,

social democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

, Christian democrats. In the process of forming the party, it was necessary to decide what "niche" in the party-political spectrum it would occupy – whether it would eventually become a social democratic or liberal party. It was also necessary to decide which particular formula of liberalism could most accurately express its ideological credo. The decisive factor that influenced this decision was the attitude to the ongoing changes in the country. At the II Congress of Yabloko (September

), the program document "The Path of Russian Reforms" was adopted, containing a negative assessment of the first results of Russian reforms, which were characterized as follows: * politics – authoritarian tendencies, accompanied by disorganization and disorder; * economy – the foundation for economic growth has not been created; * society – growing discontent and disappointment due to the deterioration of the social situation and a sharp drop in living standards. The congress document formulated a fundamental vision of the reforms – that they should be carried out in the interests of the majority of the population. The idea was put forward to return control powers to the parliament and thus eliminate the possibility of one authority appropriating the powers of another. The advancement of these principles meant the establishment of Yabloko as a political association of a

type.

"Yabloko" about Russian specifics

According to the founders of the Yabloko party, European models of liberalism are preferable to American ones. Recognizing the civilizational, socio-cultural specifics of Russia, the leaders of Yabloko insisted on the need to take it into account when implementing reforms. This specificity primarily includes the traditionally high role of the state in the economic life of the country, the steady orientation of significant sections of the population towards ensuring that state institutions provide social assistance. Analyzing the features of the socio-economic and historical evolution of Russia, representatives of Yabloko paid special attention to disproportions in the development of our country. For the success of the reforms, it is necessary to eliminate these disproportions, which is possible only with an effective regulatory role of the state.

Social democracy

Among the founders of Yabloko was a group of social democrats, but as a result of the discussion, it was initially decided not to identify themselves social democrats. In this regard,

noted:

Our ideological model is based on the need to combine liberal and social democratic approaches in Russia. This is a feature of Russia, in which we must be liberals in order to protect private property, achieve tax cuts, maximum freedoms for entrepreneurs, large-scale development of private entrepreneurship, because without this it is impossible to create a “public pie”. But we must not forget that Russia is a country that cannot exist without free education, without high-quality free healthcare. We cannot forget how many pensioners we have, how many people with disabilities, how many territories we have that today do not yet fit into the liberal approach ... We must do everything to ensure that the liberal foundations of the economy are as deep as possible, and at the same time solve the country's priority social tasks.

In the first half of the 1990s, the ideas of

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

were generally not popular in the democratic movement. Yabloko's distancing from social democracy was manifested in the party's attitude to such a principle as social justice. In 1995, Grigory Yavlinsky said:

The social justice thesis is one of the most dangerous theses that can exist. It has been proven many times that the struggle for social justice sooner or later ends in terrible tragedies. Therefore, for our country, the thesis would be correct not about social justice, but about social acceptability. This is a dynamic situation, which suggests that at different stages, under different conditions, society can agree with certain social costs. Especially during the period of reforms. And if, instead of organizing an efficient economy, we again begin to seek justice, while realizing that it does not exist, that this is an abstract thesis, we will again and again push people into social conflicts.

Land – Housing – Roads

A book with a program titled "Land – Housing – Roads" was distributed by the party. To the housing issue: a breakthrough strategy contains a description of the strategy “Land – housing – roads”, approved by decision No. 10 of February 28, 2009 of the Political Committee of the RODP “Yabloko”. The strategy is positioned by the party as aimed at a comprehensive withdrawal of the country from the crisis. In the period after the publication, the program was a permanent part of the Yabloko party election program.

Politics

Yukos

On April 22, 2005, in connection with the completion of the trial of

Mikhail Khodorkovsky Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman, Russian oligarchs, oligarch, and Russian opposition, opposition activist, now residing in London. In 2003, Khodork ...

and

Platon Lebedev Platon Leonidovich Lebedev (Russian: Плато́н Леони́дович Ле́бедев; born 29 November 1956) is a Russian businessman and former CEO of Group Menatep. He was convicted of tax evasion, money laundering and embezzlement by ...

issued an open statement in which he indicated:

"This process has nothing to do with strengthening the rule of law in the country, or at least establishing some kind of order ... Instead, it created an atmosphere of intimidation and legal chaos in the country ... The number of procedural violations during the process exceeded all possible limits, and the consequences of this will take a very long time to overcome. Probably, since the time of
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
and the shooting within "anti-thieves" decrees of
Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...
in the
1950s File:1950s decade montage.png, 370x370px, Top, L-R: U.S. Marines engaged in street fighting during the Korean War, late September 1950; The first polio vaccine is developed by Jonas Salk.Centre, L-R: US tests its first thermonuclear bomb with co ...
. The right was not violated so revealingly and rudely. And after such a high-profile precedent, this will have fatal consequences for thousands of entrepreneurs across the country".

According to Yavlinsky, when organizing the trial, the Russian authorities set three goals: to prevent the sale of

Yukos OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...

to foreigners, to intimidate and subjugate Russian big business, and to put Yukos under the control of a certain group of government officials. Wherein:

"Since none of the objectives could be achieved by legal means..., brute force was used, under the guise of, as far as possible, quasi-legal procedures".

Yavlinsky believes that with this process “the political elite of the country begins a new stage: physical persecution and, possibly, destruction of each other ... This is a war that has no end. Its goal is the destruction of people from the highest echelons of power and business, current and former, the destruction of the fate of their loved ones and families.”

"Such a wheel can only be rolled – and it cannot be stopped. Repressions – revenge, new repressions – new revenge. Is it really not clear that the current top will be the same in a few years ...?
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
's bloody 20 years showed that repressions within the political class are continuous and pointless – everyone lives in an atmosphere of fear of the future. Because if our country smells the smell of repression and blood, it will not stop for a long time. The execution of 1993 and the subsequent war of 1994, which lasted for more than 10 years, is from this area ... The imprisonment of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev is the way into repression and revenge. After that, no one can feel safe anymore – neither the accused, nor the accusers, nor the members of their families. This is the path to self-destruction of the nation and the country. The political class and top business in Russia must understand that the day the verdict of imprisonment is announced is the actual beginning of physical mutual destruction ... <...> Without a doubt, only President Putin can make a decision. It is necessary to proceed from reality – the outcome of the
Yukos OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...
case, the imprisonment or not of Khodorkovsky, as well as the term of this imprisonment, entirely depend on the decision of
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
. He actually bears political and moral responsibility for it. It is not necessary, taking advantage of your position of power, to put your opponents (or opponents of your entourage) in prison. And so much has already happened to make the situation irreversible, but in the main thing – as far as people's lives are concerned, there is still an opportunity to stop.

Chechen conflict

According to the Yabloko party, the Chechen problem is very complicated and ambiguous. It was provoked, according to the party, by the wrong policy of the Russian leadership, which dragged Russia into a protracted bloody conflict that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and created conditions for criminal business in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

. The Chechen war caused very high military spending and also threatened the safety of many people. After the defeat of the Supreme Soviet in 1993, Yeltsin needed, according to the party, a "small victorious war" that would provide an excellent opportunity to show the power of power. In addition, at that time the power of the Chechen criminal communities on Russian territory increased enormously, and

Dzhokhar Dudayev Dzhokhar Musayevich Dudayev (born Dudin Musa-Khant Dzhokhar; 15 February 1944 – 21 April 1996) was a Chechen politician, statesman and military leader of the 1990s Chechen independence movement from Russia. He served as the first president o ...

greatly weakened his position by his actions. The Yabloko party, however, believes that restoring constitutional order is one thing, but demonstrating strength is another. Especially when this demonstration is carried out in order to distract the people from the socio-economic crisis in the country. November 29, 1994 Russian President

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

issued an ultimatum to all forces in

. On December 5, Yabloko gathered a delegation ready to replace Russian tankmen

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

– officers and soldiers of the Kantemirovskaya division, who participated in the unsuccessful attempt to storm

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

November 26 Events Pre-1600 * 783 – The Asturian queen Adosinda is held at a monastery to prevent her nephew from retaking the throne from Mauregatus. * 1161 – Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dy ...

, allegedly carried out by anti-Dudaev opposition forces as hostages.

agreed to meet with Russian deputies, including

and Sergei Yushenkov. The deputies arrived in

, but the negotiation process was disrupted – according to Yavlinsky, this happened because "the negotiations were not part of the authorities' plan for a small victorious war." The peaceful initiatives of Yabloko were not accepted by either the broad masses or the

. The majority of the

deputies refused to consider the bill “On delegations for the settlement of the armed conflict in the Chechen Republic”. The “easy war”, however, did not work out – it hit the whole society hard. The capture of Grozny by militants in March 1996, a year after the city was taken by federal troops, demonstrated the weakness of the federal troops, which then led to the Khasavyurt agreements. The only faction that supported the

Khasavyurt Khasavyurt is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Dagestan, Russia. Population: History It was founded in 1846 and granted town status in 1931. During the Russian Empire, the settlement was the administrative capital of the Khas ...

agreements was the Yabloko faction. Three years later, during the impeachment of

, Yabloko formulated its position as follows:

"... Responsibility for this war lies not only with Yeltsin and Dudayev's regime. It is also borne by the military leaders who gave and carried out criminal orders, the head of the government, Chernomyrdin, his deputies, ministers, bear this guilt and politicians, some of whom supported this war, others did not want to stop, and still others could not. However, we, Yabloko, are also responsible, because we did not do everything possible, not all of our resources were devoted to stopping the slaughter. Since no one can fix what happened, there is only one responsibility – to create such conditions under which what happened will never happen again. We, Yabloko, consider ourselves obligated to do everything possible to minimize the likelihood of such tragedies recurring in the future. Today we are obliged to create a precedent for punishing the authorities for crimes. The inevitable responsibility and punishability of the authorities for crimes against their own people is real democracy."

However, a long-term peace did not work out, and as a result, events quickly escalated into the

Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

. Nevertheless, even then Yabloko advocated the possibility of negotiations. In October 2002, during the seizure of hostages by Chechen terrorists in the theater center on Dubrovka in Moscow, one of the demands of the bandits was the participation of

in the negotiations. After the tragedy,

made a statement that expressed the official point of view of the Yabloko party:

"We firmly believe that there can be no justification for terrorism – neither political, nor religious, nor by good causes, not even by so-called "symmetrical and retaliatory" measures, or any other. There is no justification for killing or threatening, blackmailing by killing innocent, defenseless people. In this sense, the cause of terrorism is not poverty or suffering, and not even revenge (which is directed at the guilty), but boundless meanness ... Undoubtedly, those who embark on the path of terror must be brought to justice or, if this is not possible, eliminated. However, what happened with a new acuteness raises the question of resolving the armed conflict in Chechnya, of ending the cleansings, torture, kidnappings, extrajudicial killings, bullying, unlimited physical violence – in essence, the cessation of the most brutal war to exterminate an entire people. All efforts to find political ways to end the war are required to be repeatedly intensified. All lessons must be learned from this tragedy."

The death penalty

Yabloko advocates the complete abolition of the death penalty in Russia. After on February 10, 2013, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, in an interview with the program '' Saturday Vesti'' of the TV channel

Russia-1 Russia-1 () is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship channel of the All-Russia ...

said that he had nothing against the return of the death penalty in Russia, this caused severe criticism from the party, on the website of which there was a proposal to send the minister to resign.

LGBT rights

The Yabloko party has repeatedly advocated for the rights of the LGBT community. On April 5, 2012, activists of the

Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

branch of the party organized a rally for the rights of LGBT people agreed with the authorities. In 2016, the

branch of the party included items on support for LGBT people in the program, and in 2017, in the program of the electoral association "Yabloko Party in Moscow" during the elections of deputies of representative bodies of local self-government in the city of

, it was recorded that that party candidates oppose discrimination based on sexual orientation. Also in 2016, the pre-election plan for the legislative work of the Yabloko faction in the

included a clause on the need to repeal the law on liability for "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations". The need to repeal this law was also discussed on the party's pre-election website. And the federal program of the party declared the need to develop "such forms of interpersonal support as a civil partnership that allows people who are not related to each other to provide each other with mutual support and assistance, providing citizens who enter into such a partnership with the opportunity to visit each other in a hospital, joint ownership property, inheritance, etc." The youth and gender factions of the Yabloko party have repeatedly made statements and held actions in support of the rights of the LGBT community. Some well-known Yabloko supporters, including Galina Mikhaleva, Maxim Reznik an
Aleksey Melnikov
support LGBT people. "Protection against discrimination of the LGBT community" was identified in 2011 as one of the new areas of work for the gender faction. Members of the Moscow Yabloko took part in the events of the Week Against Homophobia in 2011, and the Moscow Youth Yabloko issued a special statement in support of it. Also, Youth Yabloko planned to participate in the Equality March in 2011. Party leaders Sergei Mitrokhin and Grigory Yavlinsky have repeatedly condemned homophobia. Nikolai Kavkazsky, a member of the Youth Yabloko, noted that " the gay parade is not a carnival, but a human rights event <...> which should be held more often than once a year". However, LGBT support is not included in the party program. Deputy of the State Duma of the III convocation Alexander Fedulov, head of the Kursk party organization of Yabloko, in the summer of 2011 appealed to the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev with an appeal to "protect the moral and spiritual health of the absolute majority of Russians from the aggressive, impudent" pink-and-blue "minority", after which he was criticized by Sergei Mitrokhin, who noted that "In a civilized state, the rights of citizens must be respected regardless of their nationality, social class and sexual orientation." Sergei Mitrokhin at the same time called on the LGBT community to refrain from holding gay pride parades "provoking part of the Russian society to aggression and violence – against not only the participants in the parades themselves, but in general all citizens of non-traditional sexual orientation". Later, Alexander Fedulov was expelled from the party "for repeated public statements and statements of a nationalist and misanthropic nature, as well as support for the leadership of an authoritarian-oligarchic corrupt regime". On April 2, 2017, the party adopted a statement on the inadmissibility of the genocide of the LGBT community in the Chechen Republic. On March 28, 2019, the position of the Yabloko party against LGBT discrimination was published on the official website of the party. In it, the party refers to its program documents and documents of international organizations to which it is a member. The party stated that: The protection of human rights in relation to representatives of the LGBT community is one of the important areas of the human rights activities of the Yabloko party.

Notes

References

External links

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