Now I’m quite certain that I will participate in the Moscow City Duma elections as YABLOKO’s candidate. Why YABLOKO’s candidate? Because it’s the only registered democratic party which successively opposes the present regime and doesn’t make overtures to nationalism. Internationalism and resistance to xenophobia are one of the main YABLOKO’s principles.

“People of different democratic opinions including social democratic can become YABLOKO’s members, therefore as a person of left-wing political views I joined this party in 2007. I will touch the problems at both federal and local levels within my election campaign. As for the federal level such problems as medicine, education, persecution of the Bolotnaya Square rally case prisoners, protection of women’s rights, struggle against the cut of social budget, struggle for political freedoms and lots of other things refer to it.

By no means I’ll pay lots of attention to the problems of Moscow and its Basmanny district where I live. Among other things are the optimisation of above-ground public transport work and the cut of ticket prices, provision of separate lanes for public transport, improvement of bicycle tracks. Special attention should be paid to the protection of environment as health and life duration of the citizens are directly connected with the environmental conditions. Therefore “green” policy is one of my priorities. I will aim for the increase of green spaces amount in the district where I live and around Moscow and will also seek for provision of waste sorting system. I think it’s necessary to provide free toilets, even a few in every district.

One should improve the situation with housing and utilities service which is one of the most sharp problems. It’s obvious that housing and utilities rate should be cut and the sphere should be made transparent. The preventative hot water outage shouldn’t exceed the period of three days, not the way it is now when the people have to boil water in bowls and pans for weeks. The capital repair works should be provided free using the budgetary fonds.

The district councils should be closed and their authority should be passed to municipalities so that the declaration on local self-government in Moscow stopped exciting only on paper. A large number of duties should be passed from the city government to municipalities. Finally, I will successively oppose all kinds of discrimination and struggle for the rights of minorities. All that I’ve mentioned is only a part of the problems which I’m going to deal with. The election campaign will start soon and I think it will be interesting to observe it.

Nikolai Kavkazsky’s blog at Radio Liberty, 28.04.2014

YABLOKO in Moscow