#17 - JRL 7277
Gazeta
August 5, 2003
WHO IS TAKING A BITE OF THE APPLE?
The list of potential political forces behind Yabloko Sans Yavlinsky is quite
lengthy
Author: not indicated
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
THE FOUNDERS OF A NEW MOVEMENT ARE CALLING FOR GRIGORI YAVLINSKY'S RESIGNATION AT THE YABLOKO CONGRESS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER: DUE TO WHAT THEY ALLEGE IS A FINANCIAL-POLITICAL CONSPIRACY WITH THE OLIGARCHS, USURPATION OF POWER WITHIN THE PARTY, AND THE POPULIST NATURE OF YABLOKO ACTIVITIES.
A new political movement has appeared: Yabloko Sans Yavlinsky
A NEW STRUCTURE APPEARED ON THE RUSSIAN POLITICAL ARENA LAST WEEK. ITS NAME IS QUITE REVEALING - YABLOKO SANS YAVLINSKY. THE FOUNDERS OF THE MOVEMENT ARE CALLING FOR GRIGORI YAVLINSKY'S RESIGNATION AT THE YABLOKO CONGRESS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER: DUE TO WHAT THEY ALLEGE IS A FINANCIAL-POLITICAL CONSPIRACY WITH THE OLIGARCHS, USURPATION OF POWER WITHIN THE PARTY, AND THE POPULIST NATURE OF YABLOKO ACTIVITIES.
THE NEW MOVEMENT HAS CAUSED A STIR ON THE RIGHT.
Grigori Yavlinsky did not make any official statements regarding the new movement. In the meantime, several days before appearance of Yabloko Sans Yavlinsky, Irina Khakamada of the Union of Right Forces quite earnestly spoke of an alliance between the Union of Right Forces and Yabloko for the purpose of overcoming the 5% barrier.
Yabloko activists are determined to close ranks in the face of the new threat. Last Saturday, however, Igor Rabinovich (head of the Bashkortostan regional branch of Yabloko) brought up the matter of who might be interested in the appearance of Yabloko Sans Yavlinsky - saying the list might include United Russia, the Communist Party, or even the presidential administration. This quite vague list enables analysts and political scientists to venture all sorts of theories, and even suspect the presence of some third force interfering with the arrangement of forces on the right.
It is clear already that Yabloko is centering its parliamentary campaign around the publicity efforts of its opponents. Financial capacities and smart political consultants have enabled the party to criticize the government more bitterly than the Communist Party, reorganize housing and utilities better than the Union of Right Forces, and fight corruption more effectively than United Russia. It is only natural to assume that any of these parties might have been interested in putting Yabloko under pressure. From this point of view, Yabloko Sans Yavlinsky is a godsend.
Rabinovich's thesis that attempts are being made to present Yabloko as a party of squabblers is quite interesting, particularly in view of the scale of rotation of Yabloko leaders. It is common knowledge that Yuri Boldyrev, Vyacheslav Igrunov, Mikhail Zadornov, and about twenty other leaders quit Yabloko at one time or another because they were unable to work with Yavlinsky. This consideration supports the theory that Yabloko Sans Yavlinsky is a result of centrifugal tendencies in the current leadership of Yabloko.
Previous sponsors may have severed financial contacts with Yavlinsky. Or they are about to. It is in such a situation that some third force appears, the force associated with Boris Berezovsky. Losing one political party after another, Berezovsky must have inevitably come to Yavlinsky. Viewed in this context, Berezovsky's "New Redistribution" in Kommersant looks like an offer rather than another ration of mud. It follows that establishment of Yabloko Sans Yavlinsky resembles Berezovsky's usual way of doing things. In the first place, having Yavlinsky under pressure devalues Yabloko. Secondly, the activity of the movement will identify the functionaries who are ready to turn their back on Yavlinsky the leader. Thirdly, using Liberal Russia to distract attention from his real intentions, Berezovsky can quietly but effectively build up his influence with the next Duma.
Which political force is behind the new movement? Leader of Yabloko Sans Yavlinsky Igor Morozov would not comment on composition of the upper echelons of the new movement or on its sponsors. He claims, however, that the movement will support Yabloko in the elections if Yavlinsky steps down.
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