MOSCOW (AP) 鈥� Russia鈥檚 highest court on Monday ordered the only party opposing the Kremlin鈥檚 to be removed from the ballot in next month鈥檚 parliamentary election.
The Supreme Court annulled the registration of Yabloko 鈥� which is Russian for 鈥渁pple鈥� 鈥� after an appeal from a pro-Kremlin party. Last month, the Central Election Commission had initially allowed Yabloko on the ballot along with 10 other parties.
Once a leading liberal voice in parliament and often critical of the government, Yabloko later lost its bloc of seats in the State Duma as the Kremlin on Russian politics.
In recent years, Yabloko was the only registered opposition party that opposed sending troops into Ukraine.
Its campaign slogans included 鈥淔or a ceasefire agreement, diplomacy and peace!鈥� 鈥淥ur goal is to prevent nuclear war!鈥� and 鈥淔or a Russia free from fear and political repressions!鈥�
Veteran liberal politician Grigory Yavlinsky, who co-founded Yabloko in the 1990s and chairs its political committee, deplored the ruling and said the party would appeal it.
鈥淏arring Yabloko from the election means a refusal to engage in dialogue with those who ask questions that make the authorities uncomfortable,鈥� Yavlinsky said in an online statement. 鈥淲e hope the authorities will heed the public demand for peace, freedom, and life without fear, and change their policy.鈥�
Yabloko’s platform draws strong support
Many Russian had urged voters to back Yabloko, including Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of and politicians Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza.
鈥淚 believe it鈥檚 morally and politically right to support the Yabloko party,鈥� Navalnaya said in an Aug. 6 statement on Telegram, noting the party鈥檚 anti-war stance.
Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov, who was in the courtroom Monday, sought to distance the party from what he described as unwarranted support from Navalnaya and other Kremlin foes living abroad in an apparent attempt to prevent its removal from the ballot.
In the meantime, social media buzzed with videos supporting Yabloko. Many didn’t contain political slogans but instead showed young men and women holding apples when asked their voting preference for the Sept. 18-20 election or dancing to Russian songs that referenced apples.
Rybakov told the court the party wasn’t paying for the videos, saying that people who posted it were backing Yabloko 鈥渟imply because they want to live in Russia and don’t want to get killed.鈥�
The authorities likely initially allowed Yabloko on the ballot to give Russians an outlet for their discontent while also showing, through the party鈥檚 traditionally low vote count, that few people support its stand on Ukraine, said Nikolay Petrov, senior research fellow at the NEST Centre, founded by exiled Russian tycoon and opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
But Yabloko鈥檚 campaign for peace struck a chord and upended the Kremlin鈥檚 calculations.
Now 鈥渢he Kremlin is facing a rather difficult task, to come out of the situation with minimal losses,鈥� Petrov said, because kicking the party off the ballot is effectively 鈥渄emonstrating that they鈥檙e afraid of what Yabloko stands for.鈥�
Yavlinsky said the court鈥檚 ruling 鈥渟peaks volumes about the importance of our platform 鈥� far more than any official election results ever could.鈥�
He added that 鈥渢he public demand for peace and freedom today has proven far stronger than the authorities anticipated.鈥�
Kremlin-aligned parties bash Yabloko
Several Kremlin-aligned parties have assailed Yabloko for its stance on Ukraine, and some even urged authorities to investigate it.
Sergei Mironov, head of A Just Russia Party, called on the Prosecutor General鈥檚 Office and the Justice Ministry to 鈥渓ook closely鈥� at Yabloko and 鈥済ive a legal assessment to their actions.鈥�
鈥淎 party that openly opposes the special military operation, promises a shameful peace, and supports foreign agents is running for the State Duma,鈥� Mironov said, using the Kremlin鈥檚 term to describe the 4-year-old conflict.
Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said Yabloko is not supporting President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 policies and has not helped 鈥渢hose suffering, those fighting on the front line.鈥�
The Motherland Party filed the lawsuit with the Supreme Court demanding Yabloko鈥檚 removal from the ballot. It accused Yabloko of copyright infringement and exceeding campaign spending limits. The party also viewed Yabloko鈥檚 stance on Ukraine as unlawful and tantamount to calling for the violation of Russia鈥檚 territorial integrity.
Rybakov and lawyers representing the party in the Supreme Court on Monday rejected the accusations.
A crowd of supporters greeted Rybakov and other Yabloko representatives with applause as they entered the courthouse in central Moscow.
Yabloko members faced a Kremlin crackdown
Yabloko has faced increased pressure in recent years as the Kremlin ramped up its crackdown on dissent to levels unseen since the Soviet era.
Several prominent Yabloko members were jailed or designated as 鈥渇oreign agents鈥� 鈥� a label that brings additional government scrutiny and aims to discredit the recipient. As a result, its most prominent members were not on the ticket.
Maxim Kruglov, a deputy chairman and former member of the Moscow city council, was convicted in June of spreading false information about the Russian army and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Another senior member of the party, Lev Shlosberg, is on trial for similar charges in his native city of Pskov, facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted. It鈥檚 the third criminal case brought against Shlosberg in the last two years. He has also been designated a 鈥渇oreign agent.鈥�
That designation was also slapped on Boris Vishnevsky, another Yabloko deputy chairman, in 2024. The designation forced Vishnevsky to step down from the St. Petersburg city council after legislation was adopted later that year, barring 鈥渇oreign agents鈥� from participating in elections or holding public office.
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