Russia bars the only party that opposed war in Ukraine from elections
Photo: Russian State Duma (Getty Images)
A Russian court has canceled the registration of the Yabloko party for the State Duma elections, preventing it from taking part in this year’s vote, according to the Russian Telegram channel Agentstvo. Novosti.
The decision was announced by Judge Vyacheslav Kirillov, who was considering a lawsuit filed by the Rodina party seeking to remove Yabloko from the election. The judge did not read out the reasoning behind the decision.
"Canceling the party’s registration means it will not take part in the State Duma elections," he said.
The decision can still be appealed. Yabloko has already announced that it plans to file an appeal.
During the hearing, a representative of the Central Election Commission said that on August 7, Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) provided information about alleged foreign funding received in July and August by several politicians on Yabloko’s federal candidate list.
A prosecutor also supported the lawsuit, saying there were legal grounds to do so.
Rodina’s lawsuit cited several claims against Yabloko. The party was accused of copyright violations, violations in the use of campaign funds, and "justifying extremism."
What happened after the court ruling
After the ruling was announced, Yabloko supporters gathered outside the court building. According to Ostorozhno, Novosti, security forces then approached them and ordered them to disperse.
A Russian court has canceled the registration of the Yabloko party for the State Duma elections. Yabloko supporters gathered outside the court building. Law enforcement officers approached the crowd, ordering them to leave pic.twitter.com/Txf7aLlmV4
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) August 10, 2026
"You have two minutes," one of the men told those present.
He also warned that those who refused to leave could be detained.
"We’re going to arrest you now. You have two or three minutes. If you don’t disperse, don’t complain. No one will come to get you from the military enlistment office, young people," the security officer added.
Earlier, Russian leader Vladimir Putin began publicly emphasizing the role of the Russian authorities and society in supporting the war against Ukraine.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that the Kremlin may be gradually shifting part of the responsibility for the war onto State Duma lawmakers and Russian citizens.
