Russia’s Supreme Court has barred the liberal Yabloko party from taking part in September’s parliamentary election, removing the only officially registered party openly opposed to Moscow’s war in Ukraine from the ballot.
The court ruled on Monday in favour of a lawsuit brought by the small pro-Kremlin nationalist Rodina party, which accused Yabloko of receiving undeclared campaign support, including from Western sources.
Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov rejected the allegations and vowed to appeal, describing the case as an attack on political freedom aimed at eliminating rivals.
“Excluding Yabloko from the election means refusing dialogue with people who ask questions that are uncomfortable for the authorities,” he said.
Several hundred supporters, many of them young, gathered outside the Supreme Court during the hearing as police stood nearby. Some carried apples in reference to the party’s name, which means “apple” in Russian.
Once a major liberal force in post-Soviet Russia, Yabloko now holds only a small number of regional seats and has no representation in the national parliament.
However, the September election campaign had given the party a platform to promote its call for Russia to sign a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine.
The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire, saying any settlement must address what Moscow describes as the underlying causes of the conflict and meet its security demands.
The ruling comes as President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia and other broadly pro-Kremlin parties are expected to maintain their dominance in parliament.
Public opposition to the war remains difficult to measure amid restrictions on dissent and wartime censorship laws.
However, the independent Levada Center found that 66 per cent of Russians surveyed in July supported the actions of Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine, the lowest level recorded by the pollster since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Russian authorities have intensified restrictions on anti-war politicians, activists and independent media since the invasion.
Last month, politician Boris Nadezhdin, who had sought to run for parliament on an anti-war platform, was designated a “foreign agent” and subsequently left Russia.
Rybakov argued that Yabloko’s exclusion showed growing public interest in an alternative to the Kremlin’s approach, saying the “demand for peace and freedom” had proved stronger than authorities expected.
Türkiye’s parliament on Monday approved a key piece of legislation underpinning the government’s effort to end decades of conflict with the Kurdi...
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran see...
A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary de...
One hundred years after the First World War and more than eighty years after the devastation of the Second World War gave rise to the United Nations, humanity once again finds itself living in an age of permanent crisis.
Flights arriving at Catania airport in eastern Sicily were suspended after volcanic ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna drifted into the airspace around the airport, disrupting operations at one of Italy’s busiest aviation hubs.
For months, efforts to secure the Red Sea have focused on what is happening in the water. Naval deployments have increased, governments have expanded maritime cooperation and shipping companies have adapted to persistent security threats.
Greenland has issued a “strong warning” to a U.S. oil company linked to President Donald Trump after drilling equipment was brought ashore without the required government approvals, according to British media.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran seeks compensation and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom plans to increase its workforce at Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant to 100 specialists by the autumn, depending on the security situation and progress toward a halt in hostilities between Washington and Tehran.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned FIFA against replacing its president, Gianni Infantino, as the football governing body faces mounting pressure over a failed proposal to sell an interest in the World Cup to private equity investors.
Türkiye’s parliament on Monday approved a key piece of legislation underpinning the government’s effort to end decades of conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), moving the so-called Terror-Free Türkiye initiative closer to implementation.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment