The experience of using historical events in liberal discourse (the case of the political party "Yabloko")

The political party "Yabloko" is one of the oldest modern Russian parties, a perennial participant in elections at various levels. At the moment, it remains the most prominent liberal movement with a well-developed ideology, and therefore it is appropriate to consider the practice of forming a liberal historical policy through the example of this party. Over decades of political activity, "Yabloko" has managed to develop its own distinctive memory policy, making it suitable for studying the adaptation of historical events for political discourse. The author of the article analyzes the attitude of "Yabloko" members towards key events in Russian history, identifies the features of their party policy in the field of collective memory, and compares their approaches with those of other political organizations. The main sources include official documents of the party, articles and speeches by party leaders, and materials from the official website. The results of the study are based on the use of general scientific methods and principles of scientific knowledge, comparative analysis, and a systematic approach. The historical narratives of the party are based on approaches that emerged in the late Perestroika period, amidst criticism of the Soviet regime. The leitmotif of the party's historical constructions has been the struggle against authoritarian rule, which has been embodied at different times by autocracy and Bolshevism-Stalinism, in favor of freedom and democracy. The main problem for "Yabloko," as well as for liberal ideology in general, is that the examples of successful democratic practices in Russian history are associated with periods of maximum state weakening, and do not resonate with contemporary society. From this arises another difficulty in forming historical narratives: the lack of a historical period in Russia's past that can be used as a model in its discussions about an ideal societal model. The attempt to draw on the brief period of the Provisional Government in 1917 and the idea of a new Constituent Assembly has proven unsuccessful. In the 2010s, the party "Yabloko" actively engaged in memory politics, including it in its electoral programs, but in recent years, under the influence of external circumstances, the party has become less frequent in conveying its historical views.