Russian Supreme Court Rejects Yabloko’s Appeal Over Candidate List Ban

Aug. 17, 2026 Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov speaks during an appeal hearing in the Supreme Court. REUTERS / Ramil Sitdikov Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by the liberal Yabloko party, upholding a decision to cancel the registration of its federal slate of candidates for next month’s State Duma elections. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court disqualified Yabloko from parliamentary elections in September for copyright violations during campaign activity and for breaking campaign finance laws by allegedly accepting funding from abroad. That ruling, which is now final, removes Russia’s oldest liberal party — and what was the only registered party campaigning on a pro-peace platform — from the nationwide party-list ballot. While Yabloko candidates can still run in single-mandate districts, securing a parliamentary seat through those races is far more challenging. Under Russian election law, half of the State Duma’s 450 seats are distributed among the list of political parties that receive more than 5% of the votes. The remaining 225 seats are given to the winners of elections in single-member constituencies. Yabloko party chairman Nikolai Rybakov, who attended Monday’s appeal hearing, slammed the Supreme Court’s decision. “What we witnessed was the mere imitation of a court proceeding. Yet we will continue to use every available avenue to prove that we are right — every legal means at our disposal,” Rybakov told journalists outside the Supreme Court building. “As you saw, the court made no attempt to examine or engage with the substance of the case. In fact, we are not at all certain that the members of the bench even understood what the matter before them was actually about,” Rybakov added. “Yabloko was effectively disqualified from the election for standing for peace and freedom. Those who removed us from the ballot stand for the exact opposite political direction,” the party chairman continued. “Yet we have already achieved the most crucial thing: the whole world now knows how many people in Russia want peace.” Rybakov said Yabloko was preparing a “plan B” for Russians who support the party’s pro-peace platform but who are now unable to vote for its candidates in the parliamentary elections. While he did not provide further details about those alternative plans, he said Yabloko would file an appeal with Russia’s Constitutional Court. This is a developing news story. Read more about: Yabloko , Supreme Court , Elections Sign up for our free weekly newsletter Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy We sent a confirmation to your email. 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