Vladimir Ashurkov has seriously taken on something that should have been done long ago: to finally put to rest the false but widespread claim that “the opposition has no positive agenda” — that “they only criticize and never propose anything.”
Read his programmatic article, “A Year of a Positive Agenda.”
Our team, our party, is united by a consensus that Russia is part of European civilization and, consequently, should aspire to European values — above all, a representative political system, independent courts, and free mass media. These are natural civil liberties and public institutions; they are the foundation on which the prosperity of the state and its people is built. What comes next — what do we propose in the socio-economic sphere? First and foremost, and this is what distinguishes us from critics of Putin’s economic policy such as German Gref and Alexei Kudrin, we hold that only political reforms can create the space and opportunity for the necessary economic reforms. The problems that other experts also try to address, we believe must be solved as political-economic problems. International history shows that no country has ever made the transition to “high living standards” without at least partial democratization.
These are very important words, answering, among other things, the question: how are you different from the “syslibs” (a Russian shorthand for systemic liberals).
That is exactly the difference. We do not believe that, for a country to develop normally, it is enough simply to target inflation, cut government spending, and install Wi-Fi in public spaces.
Vladimir invites everyone who wants to work on a positive agenda within this political paradigm to join in. Come aboard.
I also recommend reading Ashurkov’s latest interviews:
On London, political asylum, and cultural life
Against legislative lawlessness
Just repeal them: Why a registry of bad laws is needed