Telegram channels and a number of media began to spread publications about the meeting of deputies of the St. Petersburg parliament from Yabloko and representatives of the Consulate General of Finland, at which they allegedly talked about the “money issue”. The deputy head of the Yabloko faction, Boris Vishnevsky, denied this information in a comment to Fontanka on March 22.
As the deputy said, this meeting, which was attended by him, the head of the faction Alexander Shishlov and representatives of the Finnish Consulate General, including Consul General Sannamaaria Vanamo, took place six months ago, on September 21, 2022. “I remember this because on that day a decree on partial mobilization was issued,” the deputy added.
“Foreign diplomats regularly communicate with representatives of political parties in St. Petersburg, and we, as representatives of the Yabloko party, communicate with representatives of foreign states. This is an established practice: we tell them about the position of the party on topical issues, we learn their position. We believe that these connections and contacts are very important, as well as contacts with representatives of NGOs and civil society,” Vishnevsky said.
The meeting took place on the initiative of the Finnish side. According to him, the communication took place in a cafe “in an absolutely open environment”, but suddenly people appeared who “with a cry” introduced themselves as employees of one of the city’s channels and demanded comments. “We showed them the door, saying that if they want to talk to us, let them come to the Mariinsky Palace,” the parliamentarian said.
He said that what was written in the publication about the meeting and in the telegram channels was “unscrupulous fantasies or a provocation.” Vishnevsky stressed that the meeting participants did not discuss any monetary issues.
“Since these publications show signs of illegal actions on the part of so-called journalists, we are discussing with lawyers the issue of contacting law enforcement agencies. I don’t want to waste time on the “yellow press”, but their “activities” should not remain unpunished, ”the source added.
When asked to speculate about the interests of this surveillance, Vishnevsky stated that slanderous publications are distributed by telegram channels and media that are associated with businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. “These are exactly the same people who regularly pour dirt on Yabloko and personally on me and Shishlov.” Commenting on the quality of publications, the deputy concluded: “Not only is the yellow press, but also rotten goods.”
Consul General Sannamaaria Vanamo, in turn, confirmed the words of the deputy in a commentary to the Finnish media. She said that the meeting discussed restrictions on travel to Finland and the European Union for citizens of the Russian Federation, as well as Alexander Shishlov’s previous work as a human rights ombudsman in St. Petersburg.
The diplomat stressed that the financial support of Finland was not discussed with Russian public figures at the meeting.
