Russian Court Disqualifies Liberal Yabloko Party List in Tomsk

A regional court in western Siberia’s Tomsk region disqualified the candidate list of the liberal Yabloko party ahead of upcoming regional assembly elections, the party said on Friday, Sept. 11, according to The Moscow Times. The ruling leaves the northwestern Novgorod region as the only remaining area in Russia where Yabloko candidates remain on the ballot. Authorities have now invalidated or denied registration for the party’s electoral slates across seven Russian regions.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The Tomsk Regional Court ruled in favor of a complaint filed by the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR). The LDPR accused Yabloko of campaign finance infractions, copyright infringements, and using prohibited social media platforms. Yabloko rejected the allegations, characterizing the case as a “copycat” lawsuit orchestrated amid systematic administrative pressure ahead of next week’s vote, and announced plans to appeal the decision. Seven Yabloko candidates running in single-member constituencies in Tomsk remain registered on the ballot. Nationwide disqualifications and legal risks The decision in Tomsk follows a broader wave of legal actions targeting Yabloko candidates across the country. At the federal level, Russia’s Supreme Court in August revoked the registration of Yabloko’s national candidate slate for the State Duma elections, granting a lawsuit initiated by the nationalist Rodina party that alleged electoral irregularities and foreign funding. Other Topics of Interest Russia’s War in Ukraine Has Cost Poland’s Economy More than €100 bln, Estimate Shows Poland also saw inflation surge, real wages fall 2% in 2022, and defense and Ukraine aid costs rise sharply after Russia’s invasion. While candidates in single-member districts were initially permitted to run, Yabloko stated on Wednesday that courts in several regions have received last-minute challenges seeking to remove local nominees. If the courts uphold these suits, 17 single-member district candidates could be stripped of their registration, reducing the party’s nationwide representation to 104 individual constituency races. The systematic exclusion from regional ballots also endangers Yabloko’s legal standing as a registered political party. Under Russian election law, political parties risk losing their official registration if they fail to field candidate lists in at least 20% of regional legislative elections or participate in 10% of gubernatorial races within a seven-year cycle. Founded in 1993, Yabloko is Russia’s oldest liberal political party and the only officially registered party in the country campaigning openly on a pro-peace platform advocating an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. Crackdown on anti-war figures and leadership The regional disqualifications come amid an ongoing domestic crackdown against anti-war politicians and political dissent under wartime censorship statutes. On Aug. 17, Russia’s Supreme Court formally upheld its ban on Yabloko’s federal parliamentary slate. Concurrently, the Pskov City Court sentenced Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a penal colony over public remarks criticizing the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Shlosberg was convicted of “discrediting” the Russian armed forces and disseminating military “fake news” following public comments calling for a ceasefire during an online broadcast. Despite the disqualifications and legal risks, Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov has stated that the party intends to maintain its operations in Russia, emphasizing that public demand for an end to the war remains significant despite increasing state restrictions on independent political participation. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.