Russia’s Supreme Court has barred the country’s only officially registered anti-war party, Yabloko, from participating in the parliamentary elections scheduled for September, just five days after the party was cleared to run.
The ruling, issued on August 10, followed a lawsuit filed by the nationalist pro-Kremlin Rodina party. Yabloko had been approved for the ballot by the Central Election Commission only days earlier, but the court accepted arguments concerning alleged violations of election rules, including campaign financing. Yabloko denied the accusations and said it would appeal.
Rodina representatives also challenged Yabloko’s anti-war position, portraying its calls for a ceasefire and negotiations as support for abandoning territories claimed by Russia. One Rodina representative told the court that calls for an immediate ceasefire amounted to calls to halt what Moscow describes as the “liberation” of occupied territories.
Other allegations included the use of advertising on social media platforms banned in Russia, copyright violations involving Soviet songs, and the use of an image generated by ChatGPT without permission. The Central Election Commission also told the court it had found foreign sources of funding linked to Yabloko candidates.
