They saw Obama

On July 7, at the end of the day, US President Barack Obama met with representatives of the Russian opposition. Nine people were invited to the meeting. Four of them represented two parliamentary parties (the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - Gennady Zyuganov and Elena Lukyanova, A Just Russia - Elena Mizulina and Ilya Ponomarev); four are non-parliamentary parties and movements: Sergei Mitrokhin (Yabloko), Leonid Gozman (Right Cause), Garry Kasparov and Boris Nemtsov (Solidarity); The ninth was the former co-chairman of the liquidated Republican Party, Vladimir Ryzhkov. The oppositionists managed to speak out on the topics that worried them (some, however, got less time than they would have liked), and, judging by the reviews of the majority, the US President treated their speeches with understanding. It is clearly important for him to have contacts not only with representatives of the power elite of partner countries, but also dialogue with society, including with representatives of the opposition. It is not for nothing that during a lecture at the Russian School of Economics, which Obama gave on the same day, he spoke about the importance of democracy as a universal value and how important it is for a country today to be democratic.

At the request of the Daily Journal, participants in the meeting with the US President shared their impressions. Unfortunately, we were unable to contact representatives of A Just Russia Elena Mizulina and Ilya Ponomarev, head of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov and Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin.

Boris Nemtsov (Solidarity):

The very fact that Obama met with the opposition is very important. It is also important that everyone could express their point of view. Garry Kasparov spoke about political prisoners, about the unpredictability of the regime, and about the fact that our task is to change it. I said that, unfortunately, the current Russian government and the American administration do not have common values, that for Obama the main thing is freedom and competition, and for Putin it is censorship and a monopoly in everything, so it will be very difficult to establish long-term strategic partnerships. I also said that, of course, the task of democratizing Russia is our task, not Obama’s, and we do not expect any action from Obama, but at the same time, the very fact of recognizing that there is civil society and opposition in Russia is very valuable to us. By the way, Obama emphasized that contacts with civil society will be strengthened and that he clearly understands: Russia is not only Medvedev and Putin.

Elena Lukyanova and I raised the issue of Khodorkovsky. I said that this is an absolutely politically motivated case that has nothing to do with justice, and that Medvedev’s argument “let him write me a petition for pardon and admit his guilt” is, firstly, a kind of trick, and secondly, contrary to the law , because, according to Article 89 of the Constitution, the president has the right to pardon Khodorkovsky - this is simply an act of mercy and compassion, and not some kind of legal procedure. I hope that Medvedev, as a lawyer, knows this, but he decided in this way - and extremely unsuccessfully - to answer Obama’s question that he posed in an interview with Novaya Gazeta. Lukyanova spoke a lot about the lack of justice in Russia. Vladimir Ryzhkov says that contacts at the civil level are extremely important, since sooner or later they can lead Russia to democratization.

Elena Mizulina spoke about the problem of more than 2,000 orphans who were adopted in the United States. This is, of course, an important issue, but it still seems to me that it would be more appropriate to discuss it at the intergovernmental level. Ilya Ponomarev spoke very well, saying that the lack of civil liberties in the country does not allow millions of people to have their representatives in power. Gennady Zyuganov, naturally, spoke about the inadmissibility of NATO expansion to the East and that it was necessary to lift sanctions from Cuba.

Obama, in his own words, understands well that strategic partnership is possible if there are contacts primarily at the human level, and not at the level of authorities. He comes from civil society himself, so this comes naturally to him.

By the way, at a lecture at the Russian Economic School, Obama said that the only chance for a state in the 21st century to become successful is to be a democracy. And although he cannot speak here as a teacher with edification, it seems to me that he carefully, but at the same time clearly stated his position and it is difficult to accuse him of telling us one thing and telling others another. The topics that Obama spoke to us about are perhaps psychologically closer to him, but they are infinitely far from understanding Putin and Medvedev. Putin is an adult, he can’t be changed, so there’s not much point in talking to him about such topics.

Garry Kasparov (UGF, Solidarity):

There was less time for the meeting than we would have liked, because the last meeting of the day, of course, is always pushed back. It is clear that the president was already very tired. In addition, Vladimir Ryzhkov and I found ourselves at the end of the semicircle sitting in front of Obama, and the speeches began on the other side of us. Therefore, we had even less time than others. At the same time, Sergei Mitrokhin and Elena Mizulina took up time talking about things that could easily be discussed at official meetings. The opposition was also represented by people who had a very distant relationship with it. After Mitrokhin talked about the most important problem for him, missile defense, Mizulina about family values, and Gennady Zyuganov about the insidious expansion of NATO, I spoke about political repressions, and gave Obama a shortened list of victims of political repressions in Russia recently. The conversation lasted a little less than an hour, about fifty minutes. I think he expanded Obama's understanding of what's going on here. The president is very adequate, and this, it seems to me, is the main thing. Unlike Bush, Obama has no illusions about what is happening in Russia.

I don’t see any contradictions between what Obama said at the press conference with Medvedev and what he told us. He is stable in his speeches, does not encourage anyone and understands that this is our country and our problems.

Vladimir Ryzhkov:

There were nine of us, and President Obama allowed everyone to speak calmly. The meeting lasted an hour, and all the issues were raised: the lack of freedom of speech, the lack of free elections, the presence of political prisoners, the second YUKOS case, the dispersal of opposition rallies, and the ban on opposition parties. All the most pressing topics were raised at this meeting, so President Obama received an absolutely complete understanding of the problem with democracy and human rights in our country. He emphasized - and this is the most important thing - that his principles, his strategy not only in Russia, but also in other countries: to deal not only with the authorities, but also with civil society. Thus, he gave a clear signal that his policy is not limited to American interests in the narrow sense of the word - Iran, Iraq, and so on, that democratic values, human rights and the rule of law are important to him. I consider this meeting very important. In general, all of Obama’s activities on this day, when he met with representatives of business, the opposition, civil society, and spoke at the Russian Economic School, are evidence that he pays great attention to civil society and democracy. Obama said that many of the issues that we discussed at our meeting he discussed in formal negotiations, so I have no doubt that he raised these issues in one form or another in his meetings with Medvedev and Putin.

Leonid Gozman (“Right Cause”):

What happened at the meeting was quite consistent with my expectations. My impressions are positive. I managed to say exactly what I wanted, and, moreover, as Obama’s assistant on Russia told me, the president heard and accepted it. Obama gives the impression of a sincere person, a person for whom words about freedom, democracy, human dignity are not just words or tools for manipulation to achieve some goals, but what he really believes in are his true values. He gives the impression of being absolutely not cynical. In this sense, for our leaders, he is both a difficult and promising partner.

When we asked if he could say what they talked about face to face with President Medvedev, he replied that he raised the issue of rule of law, the question of the need for political change. Medvedev spoke in the sense that he understands the significance of these issues, this is also important and interesting to him. At the same time, Obama, conveying Medvedev’s words, intonationally emphasized the word “said.” However, he further commented that he is often told one thing and done another, but he, Obama, believes that words are very important because when people constantly hear the right words, they gradually begin to demand the right actions. It seems to me that this is a very correct position.

Obama believes that democracy and political change must be fought for. And it seems to me that he is the kind of guy who set himself impossible tasks and solved them. He told us that for several years he was in the minority party in the state legislature, when everything was decided without them, when they were completely suppressed - like our United Russia. But it’s okay, I managed it.

Elena Lukyanova (CPRF):

Nothing disappointed me at this meeting; it was very interesting. I managed to say everything I wanted, unlike many others, since I was the second speaker and was allowed to speak fully. My speech touched on the independence of judges and the flaws of the judicial system in Russia, how this problem has become international and how the state of our law enforcement system is harming our international contacts. I received the support of Obama, the US Ambassador and Michael McFaul, who said that these were very important issues. The issue of the Khodorkovsky case as the most significant unfair trial of today was also raised. In general, all the questions raised at this meeting were important. And what inspires me most is that a Russian-American commission has been created. Obama indicated that he would meet not only with the Kremlin, but also with different groups of the population - with businessmen, with young people, with the opposition. And then everything will be decided by a commission headed by Sergei Lavrov on the Russian side and Hillary Clinton on the American side. This is reasonable, because Obama's job is to make the main decisions and give the main directions, and the performers must decide specific issues. I think that those points from our conversation that he wrote down will be taken into account in the work of the commission: they relate to the problem of political prisoners, the state of the judicial system, contacts with civil society and NGOs, and many other issues, including a bilateral agreement between Russia and the USA on international adoption, which was raised by Elena Mizulina. From the point of view of the theory of public administration, the creation of such a commission is an absolutely rational move, which allows me, as a lawyer, to assume that everything that Obama did not have time to discuss in detail with us will be the subject of consideration by the commission.

In general, I see promise in what was discussed at our meeting. Obama seemed to me a very worthy person, a deep analyst, an experienced speaker and a strong politician. Gennady Zyuganov also really liked Obama. He spoke on other topics, raising the issue of ending the blockade of Cuba and non-expansion of NATO. By the way, he praised Obama, appreciating the enormous social changes in America, praised their medicine, education, and even mentioned that nationalization had taken place in some areas of the economy, which he did not expect from the United States. Zyuganov said that it is necessary to fight anti-Americanism in Russia - this was rarely present in his rhetoric before. He also spoke about the outrageous PACE resolution, which equated Stalin with Nazism. In my opinion, Zyuganov spoke brilliantly, and, I must say, Obama listened to him very carefully. And, probably, he devoted a third of his speech to what Zyuganov was talking about, and asked not to consider America’s relations with Ukraine and Georgia as an attempt to encircle Russia.

Photos by RIA Novosti, Kasparov.ru, Vesti