Jump to content

Ilya Yashin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Valeryevich and the family name is Yashin.
Ilya Yashin
Илья Яшин
Yashin in 2024
Chairman of the Council of Deputies of Krasnoselsky district
In office
7 October 2017 – 27 July 2021
Member of the Council of Deputies of Krasnoselsky district
In office
7 October 2017 – 11 September 2022
Leader of PARNAS
In office
2012–2016
Personal details
Born (1983-06-29) 29 June 1983 (age 41)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Political partyYabloko (2000—2008)
PARNAS (2010–2016)
Independent (2008–2010, since 2016)
Other political
affiliations		Solidarnost (since 2008)
ResidenceMoscow
Alma materInternational Independent University of Environmental and Political Sciences [wikidata], graduate school of the National Research University – Higher School of Economics[citation needed]
Signature
WebsiteYashin's mayoral campaign

Ilya Valeryevich Yashin (Russian: Илья́ Вале́рьевич Я́шин; born 29 June 1983) is a Russian opposition politician who led the People's Freedom Party (PARNAS) from 2012 to 2016, and then its Moscow branch. He was also head of the Moscow municipal district of Krasnoselsky and former chairman of the Council of Deputies of the Krasnoselsky district from 2017 to 2021.[1]

Yashin co-founded the civic youth movement Oborona in 2005 and later the political movement Solidarnost in 2008, of which he is still one of the leaders. He was an active participant in the Dissenters' March and the 2011–2013 Russian protests. In 2012, he was elected to the Russian Opposition Coordination Council. Amidst an increase in government crackdowns on the opposition following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, some considered Yashin to have had the largest platform of any opposition politician that had not either left the country, been imprisoned, or been killed.[2][3][4][5] In June 2022, he was arrested, and later accused under the new war censorship laws of disseminating fake news about the Armed Forces. In December 2022, he was sentenced to 8+1⁄2 years in prison.[6] Yashin was freed in August 2024 as part of the 2024 Ankara prisoner exchange.

Biography

[edit]

Early life and education

[edit]

Ilya Yashin was born in a Russian family in Moscow on 29 July 1983. After graduating from a comprehensive school with advanced study of Russian language and literature and an art school, in 2000 he entered He graduated from the International Independent University of Environmental and Political Sciences [wikidata], the Faculty of Political Science.[7] In 2005 he defended his thesis «Technologies of protest organization in modern Russia». From 2007, Yashin studied at the Department of Applied Political Science at the Graduate School of Economics.[8][9]

Political career

[edit]
Yashin at an opposition meeting with Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Milov, Vladimir Ryzhkov and Mikhail Kasyanov on 9 October 2010

He served as the leader of the Yabloko party's youth wing since 2001 until 2008, organizing mass protests and speaking to the media about their causes. However, when he became an active member of Solidarnost in 2008, Yabloko expelled him for "causing political damage".[10][7] Yashin ran for Moscow parliament in 2005 where he later became a close associate of Boris Nemtsov.[7][11]

After joining Solidarity, Yashin was elected to the movement's Federal Political Council and Bureau, along with Boris Nemtsov, Garry Kasparov and other prominent opposition figures, followed by members of the SPS and the United Civil Front.[12]

In the spring of 2009, Yashin headed Nemtsov's headquarters in the Sochi mayoral election. According to the voting results, Nemtsov received 13.6% of the vote, Yashin reported large-scale fraud in early voting and home voting, ballot stuffing at polling stations and pressure on observers, but even the official result was called high enough.[13]

In July of the same year, Solidarity nominated Yashin among other candidates in the Moscow City Duma elections, however, the election commission recognized 100% of the signatures collected in his support as defective. The reason was the alleged inconsistency of the form of the signature sheet with the current legislation. Yashin was removed from the election. Subsequently, other Solidarity representatives were also denied registration.[14]

Yashin is known for making passionate speeches at opposition rallies. He is an active participant in the Strategy-31 campaign for freedom of assembly. In 2005, he spoke against the Nashi movement, which supports President Vladimir Putin.[15]

As a member of the Solidarity movement, he took part in anti-government rallies in Kaliningrad in January and August 2010.[16][17] On 31 December 2010, Yashin was arrested for demonstrating in Moscow at another rally for Strategy-31. He was taken to a police station and detained for fifteen days. He claims evidence was then fabricated against him by the police.[18] Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience, along with Boris Nemtsov and Konstantin Kosiakin.[19]

On 5 December 2011, Yashin and oppositionist Alexei Navalny led an unsanctioned march to Lubyanka Square, where they were detained by police. Yashin also organized and participated in rallies on December 10 and 24, 2011, February 4 and March 5, 2012. In February 2012, Yashin and a group of activists hung a 140-meter banner with the words “Putin, go away” on Sofia Embankment in front of the Kremlin, which took police officers more than an hour to take down.[20]

On 22 October 2012, Yashin won 5th place in the elections to the Russian Opposition Coordination Council, collecting 32.4 thousand votes in his support,[21] and became a member of the Council. The council was designed as a legitimate body to coordinate the actions of opposition forces and put forward political demands, and the term of office of the council members was limited to 1 year. By the end of that year, many participants left the association, while others became disillusioned and refused to continue their work.[22]

Following the alleged kidnapping and torture of opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev, from Kyiv, Ukraine, Yashin was arrested on 27 October 2012 along with Sergei Udaltsov and Alexei Navalny while attempting to join a Moscow protest on Razvozzhayev's behalf. The three were charged with violating public order, for which they could be fined up to 30,000 rubles (US$1,000) or given 50 hours of community service.[23]

On 23 February 2016 Yashin, despite harassment by police and hecklers, presented a report criticizing Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, labeling him a danger to Russian national security and called for his resignation. The report highlighted Kadyrov's encouragement of violence against opposition activists and federal law enforcement officials, his luxurious lifestyle and corruption, and the building of a personal army.[24]

Moscow municipal deputy

[edit]
Alexei Navalny, his wife Yulia and Ilya Yashin at Moscow opposition rally on 12 June 2013
Boris Nemtsov and Ilya Yashin at a protest against Russia's annexation of Crimea on 15 March 2014
Yashin with Andrei Pivovarov and Yevgeny Roizman at the "Municipal Russia" forum in Moscow on 13 March 2021
Yashin in a police van after being detained during the 2021 Russian protests

On 10 September 2017 Yashin was elected a municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district of Moscow.[25] The Solidarnost team won 7 out of 10 seats in this district (the United Russia won the other 3). On 25 September 2017 he took the office. On 7 October 2017 Ilya Yashin was elected a chairman of the council of deputies of Krasnoselsky municipal district of Moscow.

One of the first initiatives of Yashin at the post was the bill on the cancellation of a lump sum rewards provided for by the city legislation for retirement municipal employees, which Yashin introduced to the Moscow City Duma in October 2017. The reason was the corresponding request of his predecessor from the United Russia party, who applied for the payment of 5 salaries, which amounted to 500,000 rubles (US$5,600) . She argued that the requested amount of half as much as it was due to her years, and the funds of the municipal budget provided for such payments cannot be used for other purposes, Yashin considered this practice a kind of "golden parachutes".[26] In December 2017, Yashin abandoned the official car with a driver, which was supplied to him as the head of the municipal district, and since April 2018 this car began to be used as a social taxi for the small residents of the district.[27]

On 11 April 2018 Yashin announced his intention to run in the election for Moscow mayor's office and beat the incumbent Sergey Sobyanin.[28]

On 25 June 2021, he was barred from running in the upcoming legislative election after being considered an "extremist". He reported that he considered it was due to his support for Alexei Navalny.[29]

Arrest and imprisonment

[edit]

On 4 March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill introducing prison sentences of up to 15 years for those who publish "knowingly false information" about the Russian armed forces and their operations.[30]

On 27 June 2022, Ilya Yashin was detained in Moscow by local police. On 28 June, Yashin was sentenced to 15 days in detention for disobeying a police officer. Yashin called the case politically motivated and intended to suppress his political stance towards the war in Ukraine.[31]

On 12 July, Yashin was accused by the Investigative Committee of Russia of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and his home was searched. On 13 July, a court ordered his pretrial detention;[32][33] Yashin was tried over a YouTube video released in April 2022 in which he discussed the discovery of murdered Ukrainian civilians in the suburban town of Bucha, near Kyiv.[34] State prosecutor requested nine years in prison for Yashin. Amnesty International and other organisations called on the government to release him immediately, regarding his case as part of repressions on war critics.[35]

On 9 December, a Moscow court sentenced Yashin to eight years and six months imprisonment for his statements about the circumstances of the killings in Bucha on charges of "spreading false information" about the armed forces.[36] His punishment was the harshest given under the new laws which criminalize spreading "false" information about the armed forces.[37] In his closing remarks to the court ahead of the verdict, Yashin said: "As if they will sew my mouth shut and I would be forbidden to speak forever. Everyone understands that this is the point. I am isolated from society because they want me to be silent. I promise as long as I’m alive I’ll never will be. My mission is to tell the truth. I will not give up the truth even behind bars. After all, quoting the classic: 'Lie is the religion of slaves.'"[6]

Yashin said about Russian President Vladimir Putin that "Strong leaders are calm and self-confident, and only weaklings seek to shut everyone up, burn out any dissent."[6] Before his sentencing, he urged Putin to "immediately stop this madness, recognise that the policy on Ukraine was wrong, pull back troops from its territory and switch to a diplomatic settlement of the conflict".[38] He further said addressing Putin: "You have brought terrible misfortune to the Ukrainian people, who will probably never forgive us."[34]

Protest outside the Russian Embassy in Berlin demanding the release of Russia's political prisoners, including Yashin, February 2024

In his closing speech, he said that "it is better to spend 10 years behind bars as an honest man than silently burning with shame for the blood that your government sheds."[39]

On 19 April 2023, Yashin lost his appeal to his 8+1⁄2 years sentence at the Moscow City Court.[40] In his speech before the court, Yashin called Putin a wanted war criminal and said that Putin's war censorship laws violate the 1993 Russian Constitution, which expressly prohibits censorship.[41]

On 1 August 2024 Yashin was, against his will, included in the 2024 Ankara prisoner exchange and deported to the West in exchange for a number of convicted Russian operatives and other criminals from western prisons.[42] However, Yashin would condemn the fact that one of the prisoners that would be exchanged for his freedom was Vadim Krasikov, who had originally been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili during the Second Chechen War.[43]

Electoral history

[edit]
2017 Moscow municipal elections (Krasnoselsky district)
Candidate Votes %
Ilya Yashin 919 37.24% Elected Green tickY
Total 2470 22.28%
Source: [44]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ilya Yashin Валерьевич". Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Moscow today completed the process of nomination of candidates for the municipal elections". NPR. Retrieved 26 July 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ Ilya Yashin (20 July 2017). "is Now officially: the electoral Commission has just registered all 10 of the representatives of the Solidarity candidates Krasnoselsky district". @IlyaYashin. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Yashin was a candidate in the municipal elections | News | News | July 20, 2017". Izvestia (in Russian). 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  5. ^ "the candidate of the Krasnoselsky district in the municipal elections Yashin Ilya V." vk.com. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b c "Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin jailed for eight and a half years, in latest blow to what's left of Russian opposition". CNN. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Илья Яшин. Биографическая справка". RIA (in Russian). 14 September 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Илья Яшин. Биографическая справка". РИА Новости (in Russian). 8 March 2025. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Илья Яшин". theoryandpractice.ru. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Илья Яшин исключен из партии «ЯБЛОКО» 19 December 2011". Archived from the original on 7 April 2011.
  11. ^ "«Яблоко» отрезало молодежного лидера". Газета.Ru (in Russian). 8 March 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Илья Яшин: лидер завтрашнего дня | Политком.РУ". Политком.RU: информационный сайт политических комментариев. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  13. ^ "RFI – Илья Яшин: "классические выборы в современной путинской России – нечестные и несвободные"". www1.rfi.fr. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Илья Яшин: лидер завтрашнего дня | Политком.РУ". Политком.RU: информационный сайт политических комментариев. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  15. ^ Leonid Ragozin (2 March 2005). "Russian youth on political barricades". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  16. ^ ""Мы митингуем за все"". www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 1 February 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  17. ^ "Калининград: от "Дня гнева" к "Анти-Путину"". BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). 22 August 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  18. ^ Happy New Year Russian Style? Archived 16 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Open Democracy
  19. ^ "Russian activists jailed over freedom of assembly protest". Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  20. ^ "Напротив Кремля оппозиционеры повесили баннер «Путин, уходи» площадью 140 квадратных метров – Газета.Ru | Новости". Газета.Ru (in Russian). 8 March 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  21. ^ "На выборах в Совет оппозиции большинство голосов получил А.Навальный". РБК (in Russian). 22 October 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  22. ^ "Первый КС комом". svpressa.ru (in Russian). 22 September 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  23. ^ Maria Tsvetkova and Gleb Bryanski (27 October 2012). "Russia activists detained after opposition council meets". Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  24. ^ Coalson, Tom Balmforth and Robert (23 February 2016). "Despite Harassment, Russian Opposition Leader Presents Scathing Kadyrov Report". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  25. ^ "Оппозиционер Илья Яшин заявил о победе на выборах в Москве". EG.RU (in Russian). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  26. ^ "Илья Яшин хочет лишить муниципальных депутатов «золотых парашютов»". www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 27 October 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  27. ^ "В Москве муниципальные депутаты запустят социальное такси за счет средств, выделенных на личные нужды". Такие дела (in Russian). 15 December 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  28. ^ "Илья Яшин о своем участии в выборах мэра Москвы". Facebook page (in Russian). Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  29. ^ "Russia opposition figure says election bid blocked over Navalny support". Reuters. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  30. ^ "Putin Signs Law Introducing Jail Terms for 'Fake News' on Army". Moscow Times. 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Russian court jails opposition politician Ilya Yashin for 15 days". Al Jazeera. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  32. ^ "На Илью Яшина возбудили уголовное дело о "дискредитации ВС РФ"". Moskovskiy Komsomolets (in Russian). 12 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  33. ^ Halpert, Madeline (13 July 2022). "Russia Detains Activist Ilya Yashin For Spreading 'Fake Information'—Here's Who Else The Kremlin Has Targeted". Forbes. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  34. ^ a b "Russia: Putin critic gets 8 years in jail for 'false information'". Al Jazeera. 9 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Russia: Authorities must drop case against Ilya Yashin – latest victim of clampdown on war critics". Amnesty International. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  36. ^ Hopkins, V. (9 December 2022), "Russia Finds a War Critic Guilty of 'Spreading False Information'", New York Times, retrieved 10 December 2022
  37. ^ "Kremlin Critic Yashin Given 8.5 Years in Jail for Bucha Massacre Claims". The Moscow Times. 9 December 2022.
  38. ^ "Moscow court rejects Kremlin critic's appeal of prison term". Al Jazeera. 19 April 2023.
  39. ^ "Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin jailed for eight years for spreading 'fake news' on Ukraine war". Sky News. 9 December 2022.
  40. ^ AP (19 April 2023). "Putin critic Ilya Yashin loses his appeal against eight-and-a-half year jail sentence". Euronews. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  41. ^ "Ilya Yashin, Russian opposition figure: 'It is quite possible that Putin will be replacing me in prison'". Le Monde. 19 April 2023.
  42. ^ "Ilya Yashin, Russian opposition figure: 'It is quite possible that Putin will be replacing me in prison'". Reuters. 3 August 2024.
  43. ^ Hopkins, Valerie. "Russian Dissident Says He Was Traded Against His Will in Inmate Swap". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  44. ^ Результаты выборов по одномандатному избирательному округу

Literature

[edit]
  • Mickiewicz E. No Illusions: The Voices of Russia's Future Leaders. — Oxford University Press, 2014. — P. 198. — 288 p. — ISBN 9780199977857. — ISBN 0199977852.
  • Putin's Opponents: Enemies of the People / The Associated Press. — Mango Media, 2015. — 198 p. — ISBN 9781633531826. — ISBN 1633531821.
  • Bennetts M. I'm Going to Ruin Their Lives: Inside Putin's War on Russia's Opposition. — Oneworld Publications, 2016. — P. 99–101, 105, 149. — 320 p. — ISBN 9781780744322. — ISBN 1780744323.
  • Lyytikainen L. Performing Political Opposition in Russia: The Case of the Youth Group Oborona. — Routledge, 2016. — 202 p. — (The Mobilization Series on Social Movements, Protest, and Culture). — ISBN 9781317082293. — ISBN 131708229X.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ilya_Yashin&oldid=1279615074"