The leader of Moscow Youth Yabloko (the youth wing of the Yabloko party) has put out an article: “A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION” Liberalization can be viewed not only as a process of the authorities “warming” toward the opposition, something that can be seen today, for example, in the Russian Supreme Court’s decision not to shut down the Ingushetia.ru website, the release of Maxim Reznik from pre-trial detention, the resumption of operations at the European University in St. Petersburg, etc. Liberalization is also the result of the interaction of emerging disagreements within the authoritarian regime h**ttp://bolshakov.livejournal.com/99929.html?view=788569#t788569 He keeps stressing that "key players in the political arena are becoming reformers within the government and moderates in the opposition" Let me note that this is being written by a man against whom a completely trumped-up criminal case was opened and who has been on the wanted list for nearly a year. And none of the visits by moderate opposition figures to the offices of government reformers are helping. This whole thaw is the kind of thaw we all know: the prosecutors ask for five years, but they give three. And we rejoice—liberalis'm! The siloviki (security-service hardliners) would have given eight! As for the government, I suggest we close the subject with this: no government post was ever offered to Yavlinsky. But it should also be noted that 99% of those branding “Yavleg” for possibly joining would themselves run into such a government with delighted squeals. But no one is offering them anything either.