Yesterday I was on "Echo" (Echo of Moscow, a Russian radio station). In the extended (2-hour) edition of the program "Full Albats". There was no transcript yet at the time, but you can watch the video. Unfortunately, it was lagging a bit yesterday (though we did set a viewer record for Setevizor, Echo's online video platform). (update: the transcript is now available) Part 1
http://youtu.be/gzYQ9-a0y78 Part 2
http://youtu.be/pUIw3fz_5no
Briefly, for those too lazy to watch:
The strategy of action seems completely clear to me.
The results of the recent elections were falsified; by now hardly anyone seriously disputes that, even among loyalists. This has been stated both by a former key minister in Putin's government and by the Presidential Human Rights Council.
If you like, there is a public consensus on this.
We do not recognize these elections and will not recognize them.
The basic condition for getting out of the political crisis is: first political reform (notification-based party registration; an unequivocal ban on removing candidates/parties from the ballot, including through arbitrary court rulings, etc.) then new elections to the State Duma.
Political reform (real reform, not legalistic tinkering with a million caveats) right now, elections in 2012.
The demands of the civic protest movement are stated quite clearly in the resolution. These demands are lawful, reasonable, and supported by everyone.
If they do not begin to be implemented, then we must escalate peaceful protest: bring a million people into the streets of Moscow and Russia in February.
Then two million.
Then take to the streets and refuse to leave.
Stand there peacefully (by metal barrels with fires burning inside), offer no resistance. If they want to detain people—excellent, let them detain them. If they detain a thousand people, another hundred thousand will still remain in the streets.
If every police officer detains one person and stands there holding them by the elbow, there will still be another fifty thousand standing nearby—people for whom there simply are not enough police officers. And more will keep coming.
The presidential election.
What will happen on March 4 is not an election, but a procedure for transferring the throne. We must use this procedure for the most powerful possible campaign against the candidate of the Party of Crooks and Thieves—V. V. Putin.
All his shady dealings must be explained to every citizen. We will spread the word about the Kovalchuks, the Rotenbergs, and Timchenko far and wide, to every town and village.
Maximum coordination in countering fraud. Training no fewer than 20,000 election observers across the country. An observer at every polling station in every major city.
Putin must not be allowed to win in the first round.
At the same time, in principle, it does not really matter whether he wins immediately in the first round or in the second round against Zyuganov. These are just different shades and gradations of illegitimacy.
The registration procedure in this election is prohibitive: only those whom Putin himself has allowed are taking part.
We must push for a new presidential election under new rules, with the possibility for anyone who wants to participate to do so if they collect a reasonable number of signatures / pay a deposit / are nominated by a party.
Negotiations.
They are already underway. In an acceptable public format. Through the resolution.
The demands are so simple and obvious that no one is needed to additionally interpret them.
A group of negotiators may be needed, and here our position must be unambiguous: right now, no one has a mandate to negotiate "on behalf of everyone at Sakharov and Bolotnaya" (major Moscow protest rallies).
Anyone who claims otherwise is an impostor.
We must be better than the Kremlin crooks and, above all, more legitimate.
The group of negotiators must be determined by direct, open, verified (without bots, robots, and other garbage) online voting.
Possibly even named voting. Literally: one hundred thousand people register, verify their identities, and elect such a group.
Then we will have an honest answer to the perennial question: "Who are all these people anyway, and whom do they represent?"
These will be lawful, fully authorized negotiators whom everyone will support.
That, in short, is it.