Russia bans Yabloko from parliamentary vote

Russia’s Supreme Court has barred Yabloko, the only officially registered party opposing Moscow’s war in Ukraine, from next month’s parliamentary elections, stripping voters of their chance to vote against the four-and-a-half-year conflict.

The court on Monday upheld a suit brought by Rodina, a pro-Kremlin nationalist party, to annul Yabloko’s registration. Last month the Central Election Commission had allowed Yabloko on the ballot alongside 10 other parties. Judge Vyacheslav Kirillov said the claims seeking to annul Yabloko’s federal list had been granted. Rodina alleged undeclared campaign support from Western sources, though no evidence was presented during the day-long hearing.

Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov called the case an unconstitutional attack on freedom of thought and said there was no proof of wrongdoing. About 100 supporters, mostly young people, gathered outside the courthouse holding apples—a nod to the party’s name, which means “apple” in Russian. They chanted “Shame! Shame!” as police stood by. Rybakov vowed to appeal and told the crowd, “We have a long way ahead, and our task is to stop deaths and bring peace back.”

Yabloko is the only liberal party still operating in Russia after most opposition figures have been jailed, exiled, or killed. It has backing from exiled opposition figures like Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexey Navalny, though both are listed as “extremists” in Russia. Polls show Yabloko at just 3% support, below the 5% threshold needed to enter the State Duma. Since 2003, Yabloko has failed to win seats as the Kremlin’s ruling United Russia party, which backs Putin, has tightened control over elections. Meanwhile, diplomacy to end the Ukraine war has stalled, with Putin pushing hardline territorial demands and ruling out talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Independent polls indicate most Russians favor peace negotiations with Kyiv.