The leader of Yabloko Grigory Yavlinsky thinks that the refusal of most of the deputies of the State Duma to support the initiative of the Yabloko faction targeted at supporting the team of the NTV television company demonstrate a definite position of most of the State Duma.

“The voting demonstrated that the allies of the present administrations – the communists, Zhyrinovsky (Ed. Deputy Speaker of the State Duma from the LDPR faction) and pro-governmental factions (Ed. the Unity and the People’s Deputy factions) took the course towards abolition of basic human rights,” Yavlinsky told journalists after only 108 deputies of the Duma voted in favour of consideration of the draft resolution (proposed by the Yabloko faction) on the situation surrounding the NTV company.

According to Yavlinsky, the results of the voting affected the Duma even more than NTV. He also stressed that the State Duma “virtually refused to freely speak to its electorate” and actually consented to deprive the electorate of their right to choose freely which TV channel they would watch.

Yavlinsky also said that the Yabloko faction was not going to put down its initiative and would again raise the question of the need to firmly determine the position of the Duma to the situation surrounding NTV and would insist on a legal assessment of the developments at NTV, connected to a change of management.

See also:

NTV Case

Grigory Yavlinsky proposes that the State Duma consider a draft resolution of the chamber on the situation surrounding NTV
Press release, April 4, 2001

Yabloko prepares draft appeal to the Supreme Court in connection with the situation surrounding NTV
Press release, April 4, 2001

Draft
Appeal to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to take legal proceedings regarding the complaints of shareholders of OAO “Telekompaniya NTV” to protect their rights
Submitted by the deputy of the State Duma G.A.Yavlinsky