Military operations in the Chechen republic in 1994-1996 and the Yabloco association

The Chechen issue’s treatment by the electoral bloc and Yabloko between 1994 and 1996 is exam-ined in this article. The author examines the journalism of the leader of the association, G.A. Yavlinsky, and analyzes his interviews for the central periodical press, as well as public appear-ances by other well-known deputies of the Federation Council and the State Duma of Russia from Yabloko – V.L. Sheinis, Yu.P. Shchekochikhin, V.V. Borshchev and E.B. Mizulina. The article explores the association’s views on the Chechen conflict in the context of the 1995 and 1996 elec-tions. It is concluded that in 1994-1996 Yabloko consistently held a moderate anti-war position. The article also provides the position of some regional branches of Yabloko. The association con-demned the military operation as a way to solve the crisis in the North Caucasus or the problem of terrorism, but did not question the territorial unity of the country, criticized the Chechen militants for terrorist acts in Budennovsk and Kizlyar, etc. and they considered the dead Russian military to be victims of tragic circumstances. The decline of the authority of the democratic forces and the intractability of G.A. Yavlinsky himself led to the fact that Yabloko failed to become the leader of a powerful anti-war movement.