Russia Blocks Opposition Party Yabloko from Contesting September Parliamentary Elections

The court upheld a lawsuit brought by a pro‑Kremlin nationalist party, effectively excluding Yabloko — Russia’s only active anti‑war opposition group — from the upcoming State Duma ballot.

“The claims to annul the registration of the federal list of candidates for the State Duma of the ninth convocation, nominated by the Yabloko political party, were accepted,” judge Vyacheslav Kirillov said.

Around one hundred supporters, many of them young, convened outside the courthouse and chanted “Shame! Shame!” in response to the ruling.

Following the hearing, Yabloko leader Nikolay Rybakov addressed the crowd, stating that the party would appeal the decision.

“We have a long way ahead and we have a big and important task: Bringing an end to the loss of life and restoring peace,” he said.

“Everything we do should be devoted to that goal,” Rybakov added.

Putin opponents jailed, planetaed or deceased

In 2024, Russia opened a criminal case against Yabloko’s Lev Shlosberg, one of the few remaining anti‑war critics still in the country. A year later, și he was charged again with allegedly spreading false information about Russia’s army, a new charge announced three days before his scheduled release from house arrest.

With most of President Vladimir Putin’s opponents confined, exiled or killed, Yabloko stands as the single liberal party still operating in Russia.

The party has received backing from several exiled opposition figures, including Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and both are designated as “extremists” in Russia.

A poll conducted earlier this year placed Yabloko (“apple” in Russian) at only 3 percent support—well below the 5‑percent threshold required to secure seats in Russia’s lower house.

Since the Kremlin tightened its grip on elections, Yabloko has failed to win seats in the State Duma since 2003.

Since then, every parliamentary vote has gone to the ruling United Russia party that bolsters Putin.

Efforts to end the war in Ukraine through diplomacy have so far failed, with Putin pushing hard‑line territorial demands and ruling out talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Independent polls indicate that most Russians favor peace negotiations with Kyiv.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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