The opposition shares Moscow

Alexey Navalny and Grigory Yavlinsky, quite recently implacable rivals, are negotiating joint actions in the elections to the State Duma. Why is the "apple" Party of Progress - recognized The New Times

At the rally “For Home Elections”, Grigory Yavlinsky (left) and Alexei Navalny (in the center) were already standing nearby. They say that then Yavlinsky also offered to “forget the old”, Moscow, December 24, 2011

The Party of Progress Alexei Navalny, who does not have official registration with the Ministry of Justice, is negotiating his candidates from Yabloko. Information about this “under the source” gave state news agencies in early May, many did not believe her: too many unflattering words were said by Navalny and the leaders of “Apple” about each other. However, the other day, an official report on the meeting of Alexei Navalny and Grigory Yavlinsky appeared on the Yabloko website: “Politicians discussed the possibility of breeding candidates from Yabloko and Navalny's associates in single -member districts and found mutual understanding in this matter. At the meeting, it also was about political strategy and issues of interaction during the elections. Contacts will continue. ”

The negotiations of Alexei Navalny and Yabloko lasted several weeks. Earlier, he met with members of the party negotiation group - Sergey Ivanenko, Sergey Mitrokhin and Leo Schlosberg.

The dialogue began after the collapse of the democratic coalition: the originally united list of the opposition was planned to be put forward on the basis of Parnas (the party of Mikhail Kasyanov, as well as Yabloko, was exempted from collecting voter signatures). The reason for the split was the film “Kasyanov Day” shown by the NTV TV channel: records of a hidden camera of the conversation between the leader of Parnassus with the party’s ally on the party Natalya Palevina, who was extremely rudely spoke about Alexei Navalny and other participants in the coalition (see NT No. 16 of May 16, 2016 ). The deputy chairman of the party Ilya Yashin invited Kasyanov to undergo the primaries procedure, which was conducting a coalition for his candidates, although it was initially assumed that the party leader would take the first line of the default list. Yashin was supported by Alexei Navalny and his supporters, who eventually announced the exit from the coalition.

“Why remember the old discrepancies, they have not disappeared anywhere, the discussion continues, but now the general points are more important.”

At the same time, some employees of the Corruption Fund (FBK) Alexei Navalny and members of the Party of Progress, for example, the head of the Moscow Party, Nikolai Lyaskin, have already begun to campaign and meet with residents in single -member districts. Formally, single -mandates can go to the elections as self -nominated, but for this they need to collect several thousand signatures (the exact number depends on the size of the district). In practice, this becomes an insurmountable obstacle for opposition candidates: the election commission checks signatures on the FMS bases, which often diverge with real data, find fault with the paperwork.

In Yabloko, they argue that the initiative of the meeting of the leaders was “mutual”, but sources close to the party of progress are called the authors of the ideas of the “apparatus”.

We decided not to interfere

The chairman of the Moscow branch of Yabloko, Sergei Mitrokhin, who was one of those who met with Alexei Navalny, told NT that negotiations concerned primarily single -mandate districts. “Candidates in districts from the opposition should not interfere with each other. Cooperation in the districts is possible, while we are conducting such negotiations with other opposition forces. It was about the support and nomination of his candidates in Moscow with Alexei Navalny, in other regions the party of progress does not have them. These are his closest supporters - Lyubov Sobol, Nikolai Lyaskin, Georgy Alburov, ”explained Sergey Mitrokhin.

However, Nikolai Lyaskin said that the Moscow branches of the Party of Progress and Yabloko "did not sign any documents on cooperation, the leaders of the parties are conducting oral negotiations." “For example, there is no question of my nomination from Yabloko, there have been no such proposals,” Lyaskin explained.

Lyubov sable was offered to advance, but the conditions of the “apple” did not arrange it. She had already begun campaigning in the Central District of Moscow, but the party was not ready to put forward it there, offering to think about another territory (later it became known that the Yablons decided not to put a competitor to Parnas, historian Andrei Zubov). According to Sobol itself, from the "Yabloko" she received an offer to nominate from other single -mandate districts, but with two conditions. The first is the refusal to support the Open Russia in any form. And the second is the support of Yavlinsky’s candidacy in the presidential election in 2018. “I decided to disagree with the nomination in another constituency under such conditions,” says Sobol and explains: “To start working in June in the Service County, where the opposition candidate initially has no great chance, means“ killing ”the team, himself, spend a lot of money of supporters and get the second place in the best case.” As a result, Sobol refused to participate in the election and plans to focus on working in the Corruption Fund.

In the elections of the Moscow Mayor, Alexei Navalny (on the right) called Sergei Mitrokhin from Yabloko (second on the right) “Candidate-Spuler”, Moscow, August 16, 2013

A source in Yabloko, meanwhile, added that with Grigory Yavlinsky, Alexei Navalny spoke not only about the nomination of single -mandate. “I didn’t talk about agitation for the“ apple ”, and this is impossible with the existing disagreements and previous conflicts, but it is important not to allow the Boycot of the elections to the State Duma, Navalny is able to influence this,” the source said. This part of the negotiations did not officially comment on either Yabloko or the Party of Progress.

The chairman of the Pskov branch of Yabloko Lev Schlosberg, responsible in the party for negotiations with the opposition, told NT that he was not authorized to disclose their details. The same statement was made by Nikolai Lyaskin.

Old squabbles

Relations between Alexei Navalny with Yabloko are long and complex. The politician has been in the party since 2000, from 2004 he led the apparatus of the Moscow branch until 2007, when he was expelled from Yabloko for Russian Nationalism. Observers were then argued that the true reason for the “expulsion of Russian fascism” is the banal jealousy of Grigory Yavlinsky: a young and gaining popularity, a one -partyist could be a dangerous competitor in the struggle for power within the party. Later, Navalny himself in an interview said that the real reason for the exception was criticism of Grigory Yavlinsky and calls for his resignation. Periodically Navalny and the first faces of the “Yabloko” harshly criticized each other.

“I will not discuss the Murziloidity of the“ Yablons ”for a long time - it is obvious. The guys, although they fulfill all sorts of minor orders of the Kremlin (like working for the Moscow City Hall in the last elections in the Moscow City Duma, when they even coordinated lists with Sobyaninsky crooks), but they still lie in the media about them, but they run to the court, ”wrote Alexei Navalny in his blog, after the party filed a lawsuit for him for the statements that their Kostroma branch was bought The oligarch (the application was considered by the Lublin court of Moscow in October last year). The judge sided with the apple, but the party refused material claims.

They came across Navalny with Yabloko both in the elections of the Moscow Mayor in 2013, and during the campaign in the 2014 Moscow City Duma. Sergei Mitrokhin nominated his candidacy for the post of metropolitan mayor, despite the statements that he will become a clear candidate-spoke for Navalny. During the campaign, Mitrokhin criticized Alexei Navalny, explaining that in the first round of the mayor's campaign, it is more profitable to have several candidates who select votes, including from Sergey Sobyanin. However, the elections went to one tour - Sobyanin won, Alexei Navalny received 27.2 % of the vote, Sergey Mitrokhin - 3.5 %.

“The tactics are chosen correctly - to focus on several districts. In Moscow there is a chance to win at a competently conducted campaign "

In the elections to the Moscow City Duma, Alexei Navalny suggested that the “Yabloko” and the Communist Party to nominate two candidates - Nikolai Lyaskin and the municipal deputy Zyuzino Konstantin Yankauskas. Both politicians fell under criminal prosecution on the eve of the campaign. “Your parties have the opportunity to register candidates for deputies without collecting signatures, which is actually a prohibitive procedure. None of them (Lyaskin and Yankauskas) claims to be “the best districts”, they all carry out complex painstaking work in those areas where victory will only get a high price, ”Navalny wrote then. “Yabloko” refused, despite the fact that the strong candidates in Zyuzino and Novokosino, where the supporters of Navalny were about to run, did not have the party. As a result, not a single candidate from the party went to the Moscow City Duma.

“The apple generally got a majority of broken trough - they won a bunch of people in exchange for a guaranteed mandate for Andrei Babushkin (good person), filled their list with technical people and employees of the apparatus, who were agreed on the city hall on a single important condition -“ the candidate cannot win. ” Well, they stayed with nothing, ”Aleksey Navalny appreciated the results of the election.

Sergei Mitrokhin, in response, called Navalny the most “oligarchic project”. The quarrel lasted until recently. In March 2016, when it seemed that the democratic coalition has prospects, Navalny, comparing Parnas and Yabloko, clearly preferred Kasyanov’s party. “We must vote for those who give you the opportunity to influence the formation of the election list. You (like me) want to vote for your list, not party. Only a party of folk freedom gives this opportunity, ”said Navalny, addressing like -minded people.

However, by May of this year, there were reasons for negotiations with previously irreconcilable opponents.

General denominator

Sergei Mitrokhin, in response to the question of previous mutual claims, said NT that "on the eve of the elections, a common denominator should be sought." “Why recall the old discrepancies, they have not disappeared anywhere, the discussion continues, but now the general points are more important,” Mitrokhin argues.

Political strategist Dmitry Fetisov does not exclude that cooperation with Alexei Navalny can lead to Yabloko to sanctions by the authorities. “Yabloko”, unlike Parnas and Navalny, is a system party that receives certain bonuses from the state. It is possible that cooperation with Navalny will tighten the Kremlin’s relationship with this party. In particular, a powerful counter -propaganda can be expanded against it and the “apple trees” will have to fight not for 3-5 % in the elections, but for 1-2 % and, accordingly, lose state funding, ”Fetisov warns.

Political scientist Alexander Kynev believes that reports of the meetings of Yavlinsky and Navalny can still be considered as “test”: “The parties find out how the power, public, and supporters will react.” For Yabloko, the expert notes, even partial support from Alexei Navalny is beneficial: “This can become a significant electoral argument. The apple has developed an electorate, it votes stably, but inertia. ” In turn, Navalny, according to Kynev, needs to "refresh his story of success, promote people from their team." “The tactics are chosen correctly - to focus on several districts. In Moscow there is a chance to win at a competently conducted campaign, ”said the interlocutor of the magazine.

However, the political scientist immediately calls “but”, which is faced with almost all politicians entering into negotiations with Yabloko: “This is a batch of a sectarian type, the state has a lever of pressure - funding, the“ apple ”often behaves inconsistently.” All these “but” will summarize Alexander Kynev, can outweigh the pluses.

Photo: Peter Kassin/Kommersant, Marina Lyztseva/ITAR-TASS