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St. Petersburg Court Fines Yabloko Chairman for Anti-War Ballot Slogans
By Drooid · · How we work
Court Decision and Penalty
A St. Petersburg judge imposed a 1,000-ruble (approximately $12) fine on Nikolai Rybakov, chairman of the liberal Yabloko party, for writing anti-war slogans on his ballot papers during the recent State Duma elections. The ruling followed Rybakov’s defense argument that spoiling a ballot is a legally recognised form of political expression. Rybakov was absent when the verdict was delivered on a Friday, and the hearing was briefly halted by an evacuation order.
Background: Yabloko’s Peace Campaign and Election Restrictions
Yabloko, Russia’s oldest registered liberal party, positioned itself as the sole pro-peace contender in the 2026 State Duma race. The party’s candidates faced extensive obstacles: removal from the party-list ballot, police detentions, and disqualification in single-member constituencies. United Russia secured a record majority, while Yabloko was barred from most regional legislative contests, managing to clear the 5 % threshold only in the northwestern Novgorod region.
Official Statements & Responses
Rybakov defended his actions by asserting that he could not vote for any candidate and chose to express his civic stance through ballot slogans. “I expressed my civic stance that I couldn’t vote because there was no one to vote for… Over 900,000 voters did the exact same thing by invalidating their ballots,” — Nikolai Rybakov, yabloko party chairman
Data & Statistics
- Fine: 1,000 rubles (? $12).
- Rybakov wrote four slogans: “For Peace,” “For Freedom,” “For a Life Without Fear,” and “For a Ceasefire Agreement.”
- He claimed that over 900,000 voters similarly invalidated their ballots as a form of protest.
Ongoing Pressure on Yabloko
The fine comes amid a broader crackdown on Yabloko members; three prominent figures have received prison sentences in the past four months, most recently activist Yelena Perepelitsa. The party’s limited electoral success and continued legal challenges underscore the heightened constraints facing opposition groups that publicly oppose the war.