Last month, hundreds of protesters gathered in central Moscow. Standing outside the country’s Supreme Court, they chanted “Shame!” at the authorities.
The site was extraordinary in a wartime Russia where public protests have become vanishingly rare. Even mild expressions of dissent can result in jail sentences.
The protesters were risking their freedom – there were several arrests reported – over a ruling that banned Yabloko, the only liberal, anti-war party, from standing in Russia’s legislative elections later this month – the first since the invasion of Ukraine.
Yabloko was banned over highly questionable allegations of promoting the “international LGBT movement” and copyright infringement.
The elections are heavily controlled by the regime. The Kremlin can disqualify parties and candidates on thin pretexts, artificially boost candidates of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, and interfere with counts through the electronic voting system.
