A Bitter Pill

Yuri Sipko on the upcoming elections in Russia

M o s c o w – In an interview with the magazine „Christian Herald“ from the far eastern city of Blagoveshchensk, Rev. Yuri Sipko, the President of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (RUECB) voiced his concerns regarding the upcoming Russian parliamentary elections on 2 December. The direct election for Russia’s new President is scheduled for 26 March 2008.

In the interview, Yuri Sipko is asked for whom he will vote in the upcoming Duma elections:

„I don’t know yet for whom I will be voting. It’s very bitter for me: A free election campaign with equal rights for all election candidates – those kinds of elections are no more. The OSCE`s decision to refrain from sending any election observers to Russia was a very bitter pill for me personally. This means that we no longer even claim to hold democratic elections. We have abandoned transparency and any readiness to play the game honestly.”

„So you may guess, my dear friend: Which party, which unity party will enter the Duma as a result of the free and democratic elections of December 2007? It also makes no sense to say something now about the future President. He (Putin) has already stated very clearly, that he as a result of these democratic elections will be given the right to control both the Duma and the future President. So everything has already been decided. The election lists are ready, the votes have been distributed and calculated. The briefcases have been passed out. Please sit quietly. Everything will be OK.“

The entire interview can be read in Russian on this website.