"They understand that Moscow votes smartly"

Lyubol Sobol told why it goes to the Moscow City Duma

The fact that elections to the Moscow City Duma will be held in September, now primarily resembles a conflict in the Central Administrative District (Khamovniki, Arbat, Presnya). A lawyer of the Corruption Fund (FBK) Lyubol Sobol, from the Yabloko, is going to navigate from the team of Alexei Navalny, the former chairman of the Moscow Branch of the party Sergey Mitrokhin, and as a self -nominated, the founder of the Vera Foundation Anna Federmeser. The Federmeser has not yet officially announced the nomination, but confirmed the probability of this in the comments of the media. Navalny in response published an open letter in which the Federmeser called on "not to help power" and "not to pay his reputation for this." Sable itself refuses to discuss the clash of candidates. She is still waiting for an official statement from Federmeser herself. In an interview with the correspondent of the “new” ally of Navalny, explains why he goes to the polls and how he is preparing for the campaign.

- How did you decide to nominate in the Moscow City Duma?

- Back in September, I then talked with my family, approximately appreciated the volume of work on the Navalny Live channel (which I am now heading) and realized, I would like to participate in the elections because I can conduct a bright political campaign and win. These are not my first elections-I went to the Moscow City Duma in 2014 ( then Sobol could not collect the required number of signatures for registration. - Ed. ) And to the State Duma-in 2016 (the candidacy of Sable to the CAO refused to support the Yabloko and Parnassus- Ed. ). I actively participated in the presidential campaign of Alexei Navalny, which, in fact, continues to this day. And I have been engaged in social activities for a very long time - I am organizing rallies and participating in them, I represent the interests of people in the courts.

I remember how I negotiated with representatives of the Yabloko party in September, we discussed the breeding of candidates in the districts, and I already decided that I would go to the 43rd. I remember well those negotiations, they took place at a difficult time for our team: there was a rally against raising the retirement age, restarting the Navalny Live channel, Alexei Navalny was under administrative arrest for a long time.

-Did you know then that the “apple” will nominate Mitrokhin in the 43rd district?

- No, I did not know. And in fact, it is still unknown who will go from the Yabloko party there. Maxim Katz recently in a post with Sergey Parkhomenko in Facebook wrote that 15 candidates from the party are considered in this district and it is not known who will be sent in the end. When I made a decision last year, it was not yet heard about the ambitions of Sergei Mitrokhin. The only thing I knew that before that he was advanced in the Moscow City Duma in the North-East District. Looking at the elections in which he participated for the past 10 years, I do not think that he has a chance to win this time.

- Some believe that specifically in Hamovniks, Mitrokhin enjoys certain support. He collaborates with district activists, takes part in pickets.

- As far as I know, no, he does not have strong support there. I see this according to the electoral statistics of the mayor’s elections in 2013-he took in Moscow some minimum percentage ( 3.51%.- Ed. ). According to his participation in the elections, everything can be seen: he lost them even in his own party. I'm just afraid that the support of this candidate does not make sense. Although in any case, the Yabloko party will nominate its representative there - they also said that they plan to nominate candidates in all 45 constituencies. And, to be honest, I do not understand how to agree with them after that, if they say so in advance. This is strange for me. I talked with the team of Dmitry Gudkov, and he refused to nominate in this district.

- Gudkov refused because he learned about your nomination?

- Publicly he said that he refused to go to Mitrokhin in this district. But I think that the totality of reasons: possibly in my electoral statistics and because I intended to go there. He knew this, we talked with his team, and I told them what kind of district I would go to. I believe that in the Moscow City Duma there should be a political representative of the rights and interests of the inhabitants of Moscow. Not only the 43rd constituency, but all of Moscow. I am going to be a representative of people in the Moscow City Duma, to be a person whom they can turn to. Because now there are practically no such deputies. There is an active Shuvalov from the Communist Party, and perhaps all. United Russia, which has the majority in the city parliament, does not represent the interests of residents.

- You did not consider another district for nomination? Did you immediately decided that you would only go on the 43rd? Why exactly there?

- I looked at the statistics.

In Moscow there are three centers in which people vote for a democratic opposition - everyone knows this. This is Tsao, Falcon and Airport.

And areas around Moscow State University in which I studied. And, to be honest, of course I would like to go to the area next to my university, because it is wonderful. I have many supporters left there, because I kept problems in the field there, I have a good relationship with the initiative group of Moscow State University, with the guys who could connect to the collection of signatures. But I know that in this area, Elena Rusakova, who comes from Yabloko, has great chances in the passage. She seriously engaged in municipal work, actively defends the rights of residents. My opinion is that now the democratic opposition should rally and unite in this constituency around Rusakova - then it has real chances to defeat the “United Russia”.

I also looked at the district in which I ran in 2014 - this is Danilovsky district and Donskoy - but there are great chances to defeat the other Yablooper, Kirill Goncharov, who took second place in the elections in 2014. I understand that the most logical thing to do in order to deprive the “United Russia” of the majority is to support strong candidates (this is the principle of “smart voting”). For example, in the district where Andrei Klychkov ran for the Moscow City Duma, a very strong position is at the Communists - and I think that it is logical to support the Communists. For me personally, for political reasons, the story that you need to support a person who is photographed with a portrait of Stalin. But I understand that if now we want to achieve the “United Russia” to lose the majority in the Moscow City Duma, we must support all strong candidates, most importantly, not “United Russia”. In addition, my family lives in the Krasnopresnensky district: father, two brothers and sister. And they, one might say, are district activists, who, among other things, helped to protect their house from the renovation program. But the most important thing is why I am walking along the CAO -

I want to lead a real political campaign. And show everyone that the deputy is not a “unicorn”. And in the center everyone will see it.

And the political campaigns should be carried out, of course, not in sleeping areas, but there. I believe that a strong opposition candidate must conduct a campaign precisely in CAO.

- In the district you have chosen, Anna Federmeser may advance, with which you are in absentia as two main rivals. The Federmeser says that you are with her - about different ones (she is about helping patients, you are about the fight against corruption) that you and her are intentionally drawn into the confrontation that she nor you need and that you work in completely different planes. Do you agree with this?

- I respect the Federmeser as a philanthropist and I believe that it is she who should voice her position on her nomination, and not other people. I would like to wait for this final information from her in order to comment on something objectively. But judging by the information published by the respected media, I see that the city hall now has a certain election tactic: they began to understand that United Russia has no support among Muscovites, it receives low ratings even from their own official surveys of the city hall - they are afraid to exhibit its members. In past elections in 2014, they had such tactics: to exhibit actors and singers at the Moscow City Duma. Now they understand that Moscow votes smartly and protest. They will put up a singer - people will not vote for him. Judging by the media reports, they will negotiate with representatives of non -profit organizations so that they become such a living shield. And at the same time they will go with the support of the city hall against opposition independent candidates. I think this is disgusting. Because

United Russia now puts philanthropists with the choice: either we do not support your charity fund, or you enter into the ONF and represent the interests of the party in the elections to the Moscow City Duma.

I believe that this situation directly says that this power is vile. The authorities, officials, Sobyanin and United Russia should help charitable organizations regardless of whether this person is a political candidate. All people, and power, and opposition, should help sick children. Regardless of what political views the head of the charitable organization adheres to. And the fact that now the city hall has chosen the tactics of hand wringing, this is a vile situation. I am struggling against this vile power. I do not want to see their representatives either in the chair of the mayor of Moscow, or in the chairs of the deputies of the Moscow City Duma.

- That is, the letter of Alexei Navalny was addressed to Federmeser so that, after reading it, she decided to refuse to nominate without becoming a “live shield”?

- These are the words of Navalny, he wrote his letter. My position is that I am waiting for the official decision of Anna Federmeser.

- Your last rather resonant investigation was carried out against Evgeny Prigozhin, Concord, which supplies poor -quality food to Moscow kindergartens. If you imagine that you are doing such an investigation in the status of a deputy - what, in your opinion, will be a reaction to him?

- First of all, I would like to immediately note that I will continue to publish such investigations about corruption schemes. Naturally, as a deputy, I could put this question louder. The deputy can ask this issue directly to Sobyanin. In addition, the deputy has the opportunity to support bills that should go to the federal level, he has the opportunity to write deputy requests to which the bodies are required to respond. Because now the Moscow prosecutor’s office does not actually work and does not even always meet people with formal replications. Naturally, she will answer the deputy.

As for my last investigation, it was that children from kindergartens leave for ambulances and then treated dysentery in hospitals for several months. The last mass outbreak of dysentery occurred in December 2018, and only according to my information, pupils of 16 kindergartens of Moscow suffered from it. And these outbreaks were associated with poor -quality nutrition, which companies that were controlled by Evgeny Prigozhin supply in kindergartens. In December, there was information about the outbreaks of dysentery in SEAO and VAO. In February 2018 - in the South -Western Administration.

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Soon I will publish another investigation in another district of Moscow. After the publication, my parents turn to me daily, including from my constituency, and they say that they are not satisfied with the quality of food in schools and gardens. They are afraid to drive children, the children hurt the stomachs, the food is tasteless. They are trying to talk with school principals, but even the directors of school complexes in Moscow, who are obeying kindergartens, say they cannot influence this situation. Evgeny Prigozhin loves budget contracts very much, he is engaged in the service of the Ministry of Defense, construction and now the supply of food. Now he is actually a monopolist in nutrition in Moscow.

Parents of poisoned children did not even apologize, did not show a human attitude. A deputy of the Moscow City Duma can at least raise this issue to another level.

-It does not seem to you that including because of such investigations, recognition as one of the opposition leaders, you may not be registered as a candidate?

- Of course, I understand what it can be that the Moscow City Hall is afraid of independent deputies. But this is not only my case. This is Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Milov, Ivan Zhdanov, Konstantin Yankauskas. The city hall wants to sit beautiful people in the form of Kuzminov, the rector of the Higher School of Economics, and in the form of Nadezhda Babkina, as in the previous convocation in the field. These people, in fact, occupy other people's places. But I will achieve my registration and victory in the elections in September in any case.

-And if such a situation occurs that you are still not registered or you lose in the elections, what further tactics of struggle will you choose?

- I have been working as a lawyer of the Corruption Fund for more than 8 years, have been engaged in social activities for many years, publish my anti -corruption investigations. I will continue to do this regardless of the decision of the city hall.

In any case, I will not stop my social activity whether they will choose me or not. Elections are an opportunity to declare my position louder, which I am going to use.

And in fact, I do not consider the option when they may not register me and I may not win. I look at my supporters and volunteers, whom I already have tens and hundreds, communicate with residents, heads of HOAs, chairmen of initiative groups, and I understand the main thing - today it is impossible to lose. Because United Russia now has no support for people. A person who works in the interests of the city is doomed to win. Therefore, I count on it.