Translated material
For a just cause
Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Milov called on SPS members not to become part of the Kremlin party pool
Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Milov appealed to members of the Union of Right Forces not to participate in the construction of the Kremlin project of a democratic party. The day before, the leadership of the Union of Right Forces agreed to unite with Mikhail Barshchevsky’s “Civil Force” and the Democratic Party of Russia into an organization initiated by the Kremlin, solving for itself the issue of survival. SPS leader Nikita Belykh said that he did not see himself in this organization and resigned . According to the party charter, he was temporarily replaced by the deputy chairman of the SPS political council, Leonid Gozman.Boris Nemtsov headed the SPS for a long time, and former Deputy Minister of Energy Vladimir Milov was planning to join there until recent events. The authors of the appeal told reporters yesterday that party members had approached them with a request to assess the situation. “As a result of recent events, the Union of Right Forces has ceased to exist as an opposition democratic party,” Nemtsov and Milov said in their appeal. The authors note that Nikita Belykh’s tenure as leader of the Union of Rightist Forces was a guarantee of the party’s independence, its ability to “carry out an independent political line, defend liberal democratic ideas and values.” Now, according to the authors of the appeal, “a direct path has opened before the Union of Right Forces to the complete loss of political independence, a merger with puppet Kremlin false parties such as the “Civil Force” or DPR, and the transformation of the Union of Right Forces into a branch of the party in power under the liberal democratic guise.”
In this regard, Nemtsov and Milov called on the right to leave the party, which “is destined for the shameful fate of a Kremlin puppet.” Politicians also do not believe in the success of the party united by the Kremlin. “Our voters are smart and educated people, they will be able to distinguish falsehood,” Mr. Nemtsov believes. In his opinion, such a party could count on being taken seriously only in one case - if it were headed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
As politicians said, a number of prominent party members have already expressed their reluctance to remain in the ranks of the Union of Right Forces. “Volodya Kara-Murza, a member of the political council, called me. He said that he would definitely not be a member of such a party,” said Boris Nemtsov. - Maria Gaidar also does not want to remain in the Union of Right Forces. Vadim Prokhorov (party lawyer - Ed. ) also announced that he was leaving. I am sure that Evgeny Yasin (scientific director of the Higher School of Economics - Ed. ) will not want to participate in this."
However, there is no talk of a global protest in the party that could turn the situation in the opposite direction. The decision to merge with “Civil Force” and the Democratic Party of Russia must still be approved by the congress of the Union of Right Forces. He is also authorized to approve the resignation of Nikita Belykh. However, the ex-party leader himself has no illusions. “The congress delegates are the heads of regional branches of the Union of Right Forces and deputies of local legislative assemblies. Their task is to participate normally in elections to regional parliaments. They want to stay in the establishment,” Mr. Belykh said yesterday.
As an alternative, Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Milov propose that party members “become participants in the process of consolidating the Russian democratic opposition and take part in the creation of a single all-Russian democratic movement, the establishment of which is planned at the congress of democratic forces on December 13, 2008.” Since the congress participants do not believe that in the conditions of modern Russian politics they will be able to register an independent democratic party and participate in elections, the new organization will do completely different things - this is the “street”: rallies, processions, pickets and explanatory work. They do not deny the possibility of participating in municipal elections.
“The growth in popularity of the liberal democratic idea is inevitable,” says Vladimir Milov. -- Already in Russia, according to various surveys, from 20 to 30 million people support European liberal values. We just need to mobilize our voters and expand our support base. We need to regain confidence in ourselves."
In response to Nemtsov and Milov’s appeal, Leonid Gozman urged them not to put pressure on party members. And he noted that leaving for the non-systemic opposition would mean for the right not only the loss of the positions they had won in power and business - won despite the fact that they never hid their affiliation with the Union of Rightist Forces - but also the rejection of any political activities in general.