Key facts
- Russia's Supreme Court has ruled to bar the Yabloko party from participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
- The court cited alleged violations of election campaigning rules, including campaign financing and copyright infringements.
- The nationalist Rodina party brought the case against Yabloko.
- Yabloko was the only remaining liberal political group and campaigned on a platform for peace in Ukraine.
- Opposition figures, including Yulia Navalnaya, had urged voters to support Yabloko.
Russia's Supreme Court has ruled to exclude the Yabloko party from the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for September, citing alleged violations of election campaigning rules. The decision, published on August 10, comes after the party's candidate list had been registered by the Central Election Commission.
The case was initiated by the nationalist, pro-Kremlin Rodina party, whose leader Alexei Zhuravlev claimed Yabloko had violated rules concerning campaign financing and copyright by using Soviet songs in advertisements. Zhuravlev also alleged Yabloko had placed advertisements on social media platforms banned in Russia.
This ruling effectively removes Russia's only remaining liberal political group from the election. Yabloko had been campaigning on a platform calling for peace and an end to the war in Ukraine, with its platform stating, "For peace and freedom! For a life without fear! For a ceasefire agreement, diplomacy, and the achievement of peace!"
Following its registration, Yabloko faced criticism from lawmakers who accused the party of "betraying the motherland." Allies of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, including his widow Yulia Navalnaya, had urged voters to support Yabloko as a means to express disagreement with the government, despite the perceived unfairness of the elections.
Members of Yabloko have reportedly faced pressure, with some regional candidates being fined under legislation targeting extremist symbols, often linked to photographs of Navalny. While Yabloko is not entirely controlled by the Kremlin, its operational capacity has been significantly limited under President Vladimir Putin's administration. The party previously held seats in the State Duma but has not cleared the 5% electoral threshold in federal elections since 2003. Some independent polls suggested Yabloko had a slim chance of crossing this threshold in the upcoming election, with state-run polls placing its support around 3%.