No Chance for a Peaceful Agenda

A full-blown pre-election scandal erupted suddenly in Russia, leaving the sole mainstream anti-war party unable to participate in this year’s elections.

The story involves the democratic party “Yabloko” (“Apple”), which emerged in the 1990s. Although its historic leader, Grigory Yavlinsky, has lost his significance as an opposition figure, many other members of the party are acting quite boldly.

Lev Shlosberg, chairman of the party’s Pskov regional branch, who openly spoke out against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has been under arrest since December 2025.

Then this summer, in the run-up to the fall elections for the State Duma, Yabloko members began to be subjected to mass searches, fines, and detentions. More than 10 people have been charged in criminal cases. And yet, on July 29, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation registered the party’s ticket.

The independent publication Verstka ran an article analyzing Yabloko’s prospects and investigating its status.

A source close to the presidential administration spoke with Verstka and said that the decision on whether to allow Yabloko to run was delayed until the very last moment, “almost until the day of registration.” However, the prevailing view was that, deprived of its leaders, the party would be unable to garner many votes and “the anti-war message would be dismissed as marginal.” Sources at Verstka consider the likelihood of Yabloko securing the 5 percent of the vote needed to enter the State Duma to be virtually impossible.

Although Russia’s opposition in exile was initially skeptical of Yabloko, a campaign in support of the party gradually began to take shape. On August 6, Anti-Corruption Foundation leader and wife of the late Alexei Navalny Yulia Navalnaya called on Russians to vote for Yabloko. As a result, the Kremlin started keeping an eye on Yabloko’s rising popularity. “They’re watching closely,” said a source speaking to Verstka. “If necessary, the law allows for its dissolution through the courts until September 9; the situation is under control. So far, there’s no need to do that.”

Then, on the same day the Verstka article was released, it was reported that the “Rodina” (“Motherland”) party had filed an administrative lawsuit with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation demanding that Yabloko be removed from the federal ballot for the State Duma elections. Three days later, on August 10, the court granted the petition and removed Yabloko from the election.

Thus, the campaign to support Yabloko failed, which is not surprising – it is impossible to imagine a party with a peaceful agenda in the modern Russian parliament. Nevertheless, it cannot be said that this campaign yielded no results: it made anti-war voices more visible and showed the public that the authorities are truly afraid of them.