NO TO THE BUDGET FINANCING OF THE PARTIES! NO TO THE ANTILIBERAL LAW ON PARTIES! APPEAL TO THE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION We, the undersigned politicians, deputies, culture and science figures, businessmen, citizens of the Russian Federation, address to the deputies to the State Duma and the members of the Federal Assembly who soon will examine the draft of the federal law on political parties prepared with active participation of the Central Election Commission (CEC) and the administation of the president. Our protest is aroused by many provisions of this law aimed at the etatization and bureaucratization of political parties, their transformation from "light" and mobile structures promoting the expression of political will of the civil society into an adjunct of the state bureaucratic machine controlled by the regime and its executive branch of power. In particular, it is the question of the articles of the bill providing that parties must have not less than 10 thousand members not less than in a half of subjects of the Federation, obligatory participation in the election, actual prohibition of regional parties. But our mayor concern is aroused by the state financing of the political parties from the federal budget provided by the bill. We think that the parties must be financed on voluntary lines by those who share their political goals and not by taking the means by force from the pockets of tax-payers. If the party depends economically from the state and not from those who believe in its political struggle, it inevitably begins to take decisions without taking into account opinion of its members and supporters and maybe - even against this opinion. We are said that the state financing will "moralize" political life and prevent "black" party financing and corruption. We don't believe! To use this logic is the same that to call people to give their money to the thieves in order not to tempt them to steal. We call Russian parliamentaries to vote against the bill on parties prepared by the CEC (and against any other bill providing state financing of the parties) because, in our opinion, it is destined to monopolize the "party market", to etatize, bureaucratize and finally to suppress Russian multy-party system and the political activity of Russian citizens.