Russia Bars Yabloko Party From Elections and Jails Deputy Leader

The Supreme Court of Russia upheld a ban on August 17 that removes Yabloko, the only officially registered party opposing the war in Ukraine, from the State Duma parliamentary elections scheduled for September 18-20. The ruling followed a lawsuit by the nationalist Rodina party, which accused Yabloko of promoting extremism, copyright infringement, and receiving foreign funding. Yabloko denied these claims and announced plans to appeal to the Supreme Court's presidium.

On the same day, the Pskov City Court sentenced Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a penal colony. Shlosberg was convicted of discrediting the Russian armed forces, spreading false information, and violating foreign agent regulations. The charges stemmed from his calls to end the war and a social media repost of a Daily Mirror cover pairing President Vladimir Putin with a bloodied woman. Shlosberg maintained his innocence, describing himself as an innocent man unlawfully deprived of liberty.

Following the court decisions, police detained between 35 and 60 people during protests outside the Supreme Court in Moscow. Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov characterized these detentions as intimidation and demanded that the electoral process be brought into strict compliance with the law. Amnesty International denounced the verdict against Shlosberg as a reprisal for freedom of expression and called for his immediate release.