The First Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction Sergei Ivanenko said that the creation of a pro-presidential coalition of four factions of the State Duma (the Unity and the Fatherland-All Russia factions and the deputies' groups People's Deputy and the Regions of Russia) had assumed a clear-cut organisational shape.

Now, added Ivanenko, it would be easier for the electorate to "find out who is who". According to Ivanenko, all these developments are in line with the concept of "manageable democracy". The union of the pro-presidential and pro-governmental forces in the State Duma "increases considerably our responsibility for the prospects of democratic transformation in Russia," noted Ivanenko.

According to Ivanenko, "we remain the sole force which will defend democratic principles in general." He also stressed here that Yabloko continues to "actively cooperate" with the Union of Right-Wing Forces (SPS) and its parliamentary faction in the State Duma.

Today's decision of the centrist factions of the State Duma to consolidate their efforts will influence the process of political consolidation of the democratic forces outside the Duma, added Ivanenko.

Based on the Interfax reports.