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In the run-up to Russia's parliamentary elections in one month, authorities are intensifying their crackdown on opposition voices opposing the war. Opposition parties' attempts to run in the elections have been obstructed, and economists who have expressed pessimistic views on the war have been dismissed from key state institutions.

The Russian opposition party "Yabloko," led by presidential candidate Alexei Zaslavsky, announced that party vice president Alexey Slousberger was sentenced to 11 years and one month in prison in a regional court in Pfors, Russia, on charges of "spreading slander against the Russian Armed Forces" and other offenses. The court deemed Slousberger's statement during a recent YouTube debate about ending the war and saving lives as an insult to the military.

He had also shared a screenshot of a 2022 Daily Mail article featuring a photograph of Russian President Vladimir Putin on his Telegram channel. Slousberger protested the judgment, calling it a "political criminal trial" and accusing the court of punishing him for his political and civil stance. On the same day, Russia's Supreme Court confirmed the ban on Yabloko's participation in the upcoming elections.

The same day, the Moscow regional court also revoked Yabloko's right to run in the elections for publishing a post on its website supporting the LGBTQ+ movement, which is listed as an "extremist organization" by Russian authorities. Yabloko appealed the lower court's decision, but the Supreme Court overturned it on the same day.

Slousberger's supporters, numbering in the dozens, were arrested by the police as they held a rally pledging their support for Yabloko. Yabloko, which has been the only opposition party to publicly oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine, declared its candidacy for the next election. The BBC reported that Russia's censorship law has long suppressed public opposition to war, leading to hefty fines or lengthy jail terms.

Protests are also prohibited. Meanwhile, the head of Russia's state development bank, Andrei Klepfach, was dismissed recently for providing a pessimistic outlook on the war during a recent Moscow conference. He stated that Ukraine would likely face a complete economic collapse, and this scenario has not occurred and will not happen in the future.

Klepfach also expressed the view that Russia will continue to fall further behind. The Economist noted that his comments marked a rare admission by a high-ranking Russian economist that his country's economic difficulties are worsening, directly contradicting Putin's assertions. The next election, scheduled for next month, is expected to result in a victory for Putin's United Russia party, which currently enjoys a clear majority.

Despite this, authorities are intensifying their efforts to suppress public opinion. The ongoing war has entered a protracted phase with remote strikes on backyards, causing casualties and damage to logistics centers and oil facilities in major cities. On the front lines, the stalemate has led to a protracted war of attrition. The US think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates that the territory Russia has occupied in Ukraine has shrunk to just 12% of its original size.

Meanwhile, a recent VCIOM poll shows United Russia's support dropping from 42.5% in April 2022 to 32.1% in February. Kremlin officials fear that a decisive electoral defeat could undermine their legitimacy, and they would prefer to avoid any evidence of waning support for their regime.