Story perspectives

Court Bars Anti-War Yabloko from Ballot Over Funding Allegations

8/10/2026

Summary

Story summary

Russia's Supreme Court barred Yabloko from contesting the State Duma elections on 18-20 September 2026.
The court ruled in favor of a lawsuit by the Rodina party accusing Yabloko of foreign financing, copyright infringement and extremism, a decision that removes the sole registered anti-war party from the ballot.
Yabloko chairman Nikolay Rybakov said it received 16,900 rubles from citizens abroad, called the accusations absurd, and will appeal within five days.

History

Historical Context

Russia’s foreign-agent law, first passed in 2012 and tightened by a 2014 amendment that let the Justice Ministry label groups without consent, saw the registry grow from 70 NGOs in mid-2015 to 105 by October 2016. The Supreme Court’s September 2026 decision against opposition party Yabloko invoked the same legal line previously used to target the human-rights NGO Memorial, underscoring the law’s role in curbing dissent.

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Story summary

Russia's Supreme Court barred Yabloko from contesting the State Duma elections on 18-20 September 2026.
The court ruled in favor of a lawsuit by the Rodina party accusing Yabloko of foreign financing, copyright infringement and extremism, a decision that removes the sole registered anti-war party from the ballot.
Yabloko chairman Nikolay Rybakov said it received 16,900 rubles from citizens abroad, called the accusations absurd, and will appeal within five days.

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