Chair of Russian opposition party Yabloko charged with “hooliganism” for spoiling his election ballot
A citation for petty hooliganism was filed against Russian opposition politician Nikolai Rybakov, chair of the Yabloko party, after he wrote slogans on four ballots during elections in St. Petersburg. The Insider identified at least 13 similar cases since 2022 in which a message or drawing on a ballot served as grounds for administrative prosecution. Rybakov became at least the 14th such voter.…
Russian opposition politician and Yabloko party chair Nikolai Rybakov has been charged with petty hooliganism for writing slogans on four election ballots in St. Petersburg, according to prosecutors. Rybakov, who voted at a polling station on September 20, invalidated the ballots by writing "For peace," "For freedom," "For a ceasefire agreement," and "For a life without fear" on each sheet, along with repeating the messages "Yabloko.
For a life without fear," "Yabloko. For a ceasefire agreement," and "Yabloko. For freedom." This is not the first time Rybakov has engaged in this behavior; he performed a similar act in the September 2022 elections, writing "I vote for peace" on his ballot. At least five such cases were reported in 2022, including instances in Moscow and Veliky Novgorod, where voters were fined for writing anti-war messages on their ballots.
The latest incident is part of a pattern of administrative prosecutions for writing on ballots, with at least 13 similar cases reported since 2022.
Written by urgent.news from The Insider's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
