Russia: Top court bans opposition anti-war party from vote

On Monday, Russia's top court ruled that the opposition anti-war party Yabloko is ineligible to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The nationalist pro-Kremlin Rodina party supported the decision, alleging that Yabloko received undisclosed financial assistance from Western nations. Yabloko vehemently denied these accusations and argued against Rodina's lack of evidence.

Judge Vyacheslav Kirillov stated, "The claims seeking to annul the registration of the federal list of candidates for the State Duma of the ninth convocation, nominated by the Yabloko political party, were granted." Consequently, Russian citizens opposing Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, known as the "special military operation," will be unable to vote for Yabloko representatives.

Yabloko leader Nikolay Rybakov expressed disappointment, stating that excluding Yabloko from the election equates to refusing dialogue with those questioning the authorities. Despite being barred from the election, Yabloko has received support from several exiled opposition figures, including the widow of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Once a significant liberal force in Russia, Yabloko now polls around three percent and has not won a seat in parliament since 2003. Public opinion towards the conflict has soured, with support for the war dropping to 66%, the lowest since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has employed strict censorship and mass arrests to suppress opposition to the war.