Russia maintains election ban on opposition Yabloko, jails deputy head

Russia’s top court has rejected an appeal by the anti-war Yabloko party against a recent ruling banning it from taking part in upcoming elections, while another court jailed its deputy leader for 11 years.

The opposition party confirmed on Monday that its appeal had failed. Opposition activists said the ban is evidence of the increasing erosion of Russia’s democracy and an attempt to silence opposition to the war in Ukraine.

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list 1 of 2Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,317
list 2 of 2Russia bars only party opposing war in Ukraine from parliamentary vote

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The Supreme Court handed down the ban last week, removing the only registered political party calling for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war from the ballot in September’s parliamentary vote.

“The Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Court upheld the court’s decision to revoke the registration of Yabloko’s federal list of candidates for the State Duma elections,” the party said in a statement on Monday, adding that it would seek a supervisory review.

The case ⁠against Yabloko was filed ⁠by Rodina, a small pro-Kremlin nationalist party, which accused Yabloko of ⁠being backed by Western countries and seeking to ⁠undermine both the ⁠election process and Russia itself.

Yabloko rejected the accusations, saying the party represented the views of millions of Russians and the ban effectively stripped away the only option for people opposed to the Ukraine war.

Deputy leader jailed

On the same day as the party lost its appeal, another court sentenced Yabloko’s deputy leader Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a penal colony for his opposition to the war in Ukraine.

Shlosberg was found guilty of harming the reputation of Russia’s armed forces and lying about them.

The conviction is based on legislation passed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which paves the way for lengthy terms for those found ⁠guilty of “discrediting” the military or deliberately spreading false information about the war.

As a result, few groups have openly criticised the conflict. But individuals such as Shlosberg, human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov and the late dissident ⁠Alexei Navalny spoke out against “tyranny and repression” from the dock with no realistic chance of acquittal.

In a defiant closing speech at the trial, Shlosberg labelled the war as a catastrophe for Russia.

“The lives of countless thousands of people have been cut short during this time. Sooner or later, the precise and complete death toll – with names included – will be made public, and the entire nation will shudder at this list of martyrs.”

‘Intimidation’

Police detained dozens of supporters and journalists who had come to listen to the court decision and took some to nearby police stations.

“Many detainees today. We also see that the police officers are very nervous today,” Kirill Goncharov, head of Yabloko’s Moscow branch, told the independent outlet Novaya Gazeta.

In the courtroom, party leader Nikolay Rybakov called the detentions “intimidation”.

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