Manifesto of the Social-Political Movement “European Petersburg”
Saint Petersburg is a European city. Saint Petersburg was originally created as an integral part of centuries-old European civilization. Saint Petersburg was conceived as part of the string of European capitals. Saint Petersburg was brought to life by Europeans from different countries and cultures. These facts are confirmed by all 320 years of our city’s existence. Difficult. Contradictory. Bright. But always substantively European.
Saint Petersburg is impossible without Europe. In the city’s creation, Peter the Great embedded the gene of European identity into Saint Petersburg. Destroying the basis of Petersburg’s European essence, turning it eastward, can only be done by destroying the city. Destroying its spirit. Its walls. Its meanings.
The city of all religions. The city of all Russian revolutions. The city of blockade suffocation. The city of free thought. The city of creation. The city of the most important universal meanings.
The aggressive, criminal war against Ukraine and her European future, unleashed by Putin, has deprived Saint Petersburg of any hopes for further integration into European civilization. All the modern European connections restored and acquired by Leningrad-Petersburg from 1953 to 2021 were destroyed in a year and a half of monstrous, senseless war.
Without a European future, we will lose Saint Petersburg. We will lose our city. Lose it as an informal community of people. Lose it as the historical heritage of our ancestors. Lose it as a unique socio-cultural phenomenon.
This must not be allowed.
With this manifesto, we declare civil, intellectual, and moral disobedience to the policies of Russian President Putin. Through his policies, he is deliberately destroying everything European in Saint Petersburg, ruining the fates and meanings of future generations of Petersburgers.
We are creating a broad social-political coalition “European Petersburg.”
The coalition’s goal is to win the first democratic elections and return Saint Petersburg to the European choice originally laid down by the city’s founder.
We invite like-minded individuals to join our manifesto. At the same time, we remind you of the danger of the repressive millstones of Putin’s regime.
The carpenter-tsar, creating Saint Petersburg, carved a window into Europe. He gave our city the granite identity of northern European cities. Putin must not be given the chance to destroy the historical destiny of our city. The spirit of Petersburg. The walls of Petersburg. The meanings of Petersburg.
Twelve Founders of the Social-Political Movement “European Petersburg”:
1. Sergey Gulyaev, Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg from 2002–2007, writer, journalist.
2. Olga Galkina, Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg from 2011–2016, twice elected municipal deputy.
3. Lyudmila Vasilyeva, survivor of blockade of Leningrad, anti-war activist repeatedly detained by the police.
4. Natalia Yevdokimova, Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg from 1994–2007, member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society Development from 2012–2022.
5. Maxim Reznik, Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg from 2011–2021, project coordinator for the Free Russia Forum.
6. Alexander Skobov, journalist, historian, human rights defender.
7. Sergey Kovalchenko, journalist, public figure.
8. Alexey Lushnikov, TV host, publicist, people’s deputy of the Lensovet from 1990–1993.
9. Vasily Kunin, Deputy of the “Malaya Okhta” Municipal District.
10. Leonid Krikun, lawyer at the St. Petersburg International Bar Association.
11. Denis Vasilyev, Deputy of the “Morskoy” Municipal District.
12. Maxim Kuzakhmetov, editor, publisher, historian, public figure.
In the near future, we will publish program documents and links to our information resources.
“Noon Against Putin”
We do realize that it seems impossible to defeat Putin’s criminal electoral machine of lies, falsifications, deception, threats, and violence.
In 2024, Putin once again has put himself on the presidential throne. Yes, these are not elections. Yes, it’s disgusting. Yes, they are criminals.
But we cannot remain inactive. It is impossible to tolerate what is happening.
We are convinced that in St. Petersburg and other large cities of Russia, the majority are against Putin. Media stories about the universal pro-Putin majority are a propagandist myth.
We know for sure that under a totalitarian dictatorship, any honest sociological research is fundamentally impossible; the published results only serve the authorities.
We believe that in the current military-political realities, any thinking person, any citizen concerned about the future of their children, should inflict maximum damage on the Putin regime.
We have a concrete proposal. We invite colleagues in the anti-Putin, anti-fascist resistance to discuss these topics.
We propose to recognise the Noon on the main voting day of the so-called presidential elections in Russia in 2024 the largest permitted protest action in recent years. It is aimed at demonstrating disagreement with Putin’s policies.
Noon Against Putin.
The action’s technology is very simple and entirely legal: everyone who is against Putin needs to come to their polling stations exactly at noon. You can take your ballot as a souvenir. You can write any text on the ballot. You can vote on the ballot for any so-called candidate listed there.
The main thing is something else.
We, along with the rest of the world, will see the truth. We are not a marginal group of five people. We are millions. And we are against Putin.
This will be a historic noon. Noon photos and videos of queues at polling stations will open the eyes of the blind and stubborn. The last shadows of doubt will disappear.
Remember: Shadows disappear at noon! @evro_piter