According to Yavlinsky, “there will be large changes in the country, especially after the presidential election.”

In spite of YABLOKO’s failure to get into the Duma, the leader of YABLOKO said that his party “had conducted its best ever election campaign.”

Speaking about the reasons for the defeat, he assessed the campaign in general as “dishonest involving extreme violations of the law.” In particular, Yavlinsky noted that the parties were not in equal positions, “first regarding the reflection [of their performance] in the mass media.”

Yavlinsky also indicated that he had “great doubts about the techniques used to count the votes.” Yavlinsky also noted that YABLOKO had been counting and analyzing the copies of the protocols [obtained via YABLOKO’s observers], as well as the copies of the protocols form the CPRF, SPS and other parties, and after this work is completed, its results will be presented to the public.

Assessing the results of the election, YABLOKO’s leader said that “a single party Duma has been formed in our country.” “All the parties to this or that extent represent the party of power,” noted Yavlinsky. Such a situation, according to Yavlinsky, is “a very serious and large step towards liquidation of public politics.”

“From now on public politics will not be represented in the Duma: it will take place outside parliament’s walls. No one in the Duma will represent the citizens rather than the authorities. They are partially represented by the CPRF, although this is only a specific segment of the population,” said Yavlinsky.

Yavlinsky also thinks that the system developing in Russia when “there is no independent court, independent executive authority and independent mass media, but a merger of business and the authorities, will give rise to more and more opposition.”

At the same time Yavlinsky said that it was unlikely that events in Russia would mirror developments after the parliamentary elections in Georgia. “Why? – Because Georgia is Georgia, and Russia is Russia,” said YABLOKO’s leader.

Based on Interfax reports

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