Meath and Meath

It is possible that the former deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor Oleg Mitvol will soon become one of the leaders of the Yabloko party and will be responsible for elections, political and financial issues. Kommersant writes on October 15, with reference to Mitvol himself and representatives of Yabloko, that negotiations are underway on this topic. This issue will be finally resolved at a meeting of the party bureau and its congress.

According to the former official himself, “it all started with consultations on the environmental situation in the country and reached such a level that there is an opportunity to work and change something in the party.” Mitvol has ideas for reorganizing the party's management system. Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin told the newspaper that he would only be glad if Mitvol “has a desire to join the party and compete for leadership positions.” Preliminary consultations must be completed by November 1.

The newspaper recalls that one of Mitrokhin’s first initiatives after he headed Yabloko was to protect Mitvol from his superiors. Sergei Mitrokhin called the deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor “one of the last principled officials who defend the constitutional right of Russians to a favorable environment.” Recently Mitrokhin and Mitvol participated in a rally of defenders of the Khimki Forest.

Let us recall that back in 1999, when Vladimir Putin first became prime minister, Yabloko was already uniting with one dismissed official, who occupied a much higher position than Mitvol. It was Putin’s predecessor Sergei Stepashin, who took second place on Yabloko’s then-election list. Then Yabloko entered the Duma, and Stepashin tried to become speaker. However, in April 2000, he was appointed chairman of the Accounts Chamber, and this ended his relationship with Yabloko.