Elena Mizulina proposes direct elections for members of the Federation Council

The reform of the Federation Council proposed by President Putin is long overdue, said Elena Mizulina (the Yabloko faction) on May 31 in her co-report to the Duma on the draft law On the Procedure for Forming the Federation Council.

Sergei Ivanenko: A number of deputies of the State Duma may vote against the draft laws targeted at strengthening of the power vertical

Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko faction in the State Duma Sergei Ivanenko thinks that a number of deputies elected in single-mandate electoral districts may have their own view in voting at the third reading (on May 31) for the three drafts submitted by the President Putin and aimed at strengthening the power vertical.

Overall Yabloko and the Union of Right-Wing Forces support the tax reform initiatives of the government

abloko and the Union of Right-Wing Forces (SPS) support in general the initiatives of the government on introducing a uniform rate of personal income tax at a rate of 13%, as Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction Sergei Ivanenko and Deputy Head of the SPS faction Viktor Pokhmelkin informed journalists today.

Yabloko expresses its support for the leaders of the democratic opposition in Yugoslavia

A group of leaders of the Yugoslavian democratic opposition, represented by the Chairman of the Serbian Movement for Renewal, Vuka Drashkovich, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Serbia, Voisla Kostunitsa and Director-General of the TV station Studio-B, Dragan Koyanovich, came to Moscow on the invitation of Yabloko on May 29, 2000. The leaders of the Yugoslavian opposition met with Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction in the State Duma Sergei Ivanenko.

Grigory Yavlinsky will participate in the annual International Monetary Conference and will also deliver a lecture in the Nobel Institute

On May 28-31 Grigory Yavlinsky will participate in the annual International Monetary Conference to be held in Paris.

The conference will be opened by the President of France Jacques Chiraq and Prime Minister of France Lionel Jospin The International Monetary Conference is a private organisation that brings together the executive directors of a hundred of the leading world banks

Grigory Yavlinsky participates in the public debates in the Oxford University on the topic entitled Russia has no Future as a Superpower.

Late on June 1, 2000, Grigory Yavlinsky will debate with members of the Debating Chamber of Oxford University (UK).

The State Duma facilitates the procedure for obtaining forced migrant status for the citizens of Russia

Today, on May 24, 2000, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted at its first reading the law on the introduction of changes to the law “On Forced Migrants”. The draft law aims to reduce the number of socially vulnerable citizens. The law was prepared by the Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee for CIS Issues, Yabloko Deputy Vyacheslav Igrunov.

Vladimir Lukin thinks that Sergei Yastrzhembskiy was referring in his declaration to a suitable response

One of the Yabloko leaders, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, Vladimir Lukin thinks that the Presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembskiy was referring in his declaration to the possibility of preventive strikes against terrorist bases in Afghanistan when he mentioned “adequate measures”.

The Coordination Council of the SPS and the Yabloko factions decided to support at their first reading the legislative initiatives of the President and also reached agreement on over 20 draft Laws which will be jointly proposed by the two factions

The SPS and the Yabloko factions of the State Duma will support at its first reading the package of draft laws submitted to the Duma by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

Sergei Ivanenko draws the attention to the differing positions of the new Tax Minister and the Prime Minister.

Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction, Sergei Ivanenko, called the decisions on the formation of the new Cabinet “anticipated decisions”.

In an interview with journalists on May 19, 2000 he said that President of the RF Vladimir Putin had previously stressed constantly that “there will be no serious abrupt changes in the Cabinet”.

Yabloko supports the initiatives of the President regarding relationships between the federal centre and the regions and the order of the formation of the Federation Council.

The Yabloko faction supports the initiatives of the President of the Russian Federation regarding relationships between the federal centre and the regions, as well as the order of the formation of the Federation Council.

Most deputies from the Yabloko faction in the State Duma did not support the candidacy of Mikhail Kasyanov for the post of Prime Minister

Most deputies from the Yabloko faction in the State Duma did not support the candidacy of Mikhail Kasyanov for the post of Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. According to the results of the voting, which took place on May 17, 2000, eight deputies of the Yabloko faction voted against the President’s candidate, four abstained, four did not participate in the voting and four voted for Kasyanov.

Igor Artemyev to contest the results of the gubernatorial elections in St Petersburg

Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Political Council of the St Petersburg branch of Yabloko, Igor Artemyev, plans to contest the results of the gubernatorial elections in St.Petersburg. He made this announcement to journalists early on May 15, 2000 after the results of the elections had been pronounced.

Sergei Ivanenko: The union between the SPS and Yabloko was a correct step: the strategy targeted at uniting all democratic forces will be continued

"The results of the gubernatorial elections in St Petersburg confirmed that the decision of the SPS and Yabloko to form a union was the right step.

Vladimir Lukin expresses his concern that due to the actions of the authorities, dissenting mass media may simply disappear

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma (the Yabloko faction) thinks that the search in the Media-Most office and attack on the Novaya Gazeta journalist are elements of one and the same chain.

Igor Artemyev (the Yabloko faction) believes that reforms of the new administrative division of the country are being prepared in Russia

According to the Deputy of the State Duma and a candidate for post of governor of St Petersburg, Igor Artemyev, a reform of the new administrative division of the country has been prepared in Russia.

Sergei Ivanenko: Most deputies of the Yabloko faction will not support the candidacy of Mikhail Kasyanov

Most deputies of the Yabloko faction will not support the candidacy of Mikhail Kasyanov for the post of Prime Minister.

After a meeting of the members of the Yabloko faction with Mikhail Kasyanov on May 15, Sergei Ivanenko told the journalists that “we have still not found sufficient reasons to support Mikhail Kasyanov's candidacy for head of the Government”.

Vladimir Lukin advocates preservation of the mixed system of parliamentary elections Deputy

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Vladimir Lukin (Yabloko faction) thinks that the country currently lacks the requisite conditions for the election of Duma deputies by means of the majority system only, i.e. only in single-mandate electoral districts.

Grigory Yavlinsky: Everything to dow with Media-Most can be assessed as an attempt to prohibit the freedom of speech

"Developments today may be assessed as a use of the law-enforcement agencies as an instrument to settle political scores, an attempt to inhibit the freedom of speech,” stated the leader of Yabloko, Grigory Yavlinsky in an interview with journalists on May 11, 2000, in response to a question about the actions of the law-enforcement agencies against the Media-Most holding.

One of the leaders of the Yabloko faction in the State Duma expressed his astonishment at the actions of the authorities taken against the Media-Most holding

“The actions of the authorities against the Media-Most holding and the NTV television company astonish me,” said Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction Sergei Ivanenko in an interview with journalists.

A meeting of Grigory Yavlinsky and Vladimir Putin

A meeting of the leader of the Yabloko faction Grigory Yavlinsky and President Vladimir Putin was held on May 11, 2000.

St Petersburg branches of Yabloko and SPS to conduct primaries to select a single candidate from the democratic forces for the gubernatorial elections

The St Petersburg branches of Yabloko and the SPS confirmed their readiness to conduct on May 4 primaries to select a single candidate from the democratic forces for the gubernatorial elections in St Petersburg.