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Yesterday 7,000 young people (according to data of the Interior
Ministry), and not 15,000 (as previously announced by RIA Novosti
corespondents from the meeting) gathered at Vassilievskiy Spusk
[by the Kremlin] to celebrate the first year's inauguration of
Vladimir Putin. Anyway today's press informs us that the young
people received colour T-shirts and were brought to the centre
of Moscow by the Going Forward Together organisation which is
one-year-old and headed by Vassily Yakimenko. According to information
from Izvestia, Yakimenko had previously worked in the Presidential
Administration as Head of the section for relationships with public
organisations in the domestic policy department.
The resources of the Going Forward Together movement may be assessed
not only by the all-expenses paid trips by young people from several
cities of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine to Moscow(the leaders of
the movement, again according to Izvestia, made it known that
the Ministry of Railways had brought them all to Moscow free,
following the dictates of the heart). It was disclosed that the
organisation offers its members pleasant privileges and presents.
The Commersant Daily newspaper ascertained through interviews
with grassroots members of the movement that candidates to members
of the organisation receive a free T-shirt with a portrait of
the president and then 10 hours of free access to the Internet
per month, as well as two free cinema tickets weekly or one ticket
to a swimming pool. Individuals who introduce five new members
to the organisation are given free pagers (including free connection
and service), an allowance of 500 roubles and a free trip to the
Crimea. However, Commersant Daily did not provide any official
confirmation.
But Vremya Novostei cites Yabloko's representative Alexei Melnikov
who said that a "shameful event" took place yesterday
and that "huge money was spent on it". He also compared
the action with events in the totalitarian regime of North Korea.
The leader of the youth organisation of Unity Alexandra Buratayeva
also expressed her discontent: "Our President should not
be supported like this. He can manage without them". Incidentally
Yakimenko said to Izvestia that he did not know of any youth organisation
in Unity.
The previous action of Going Forward Together was a meeting calling
for the immediate release of Pavel Borodin (Ed. former head of
the managerial department of the Presidential Administration accused
of bribe-taking) from Brooklyn prison.
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