The Russian Supreme Court excludes the only anti-war party from the parliamentary elections.

Russia’s highest court on Monday barred the liberal Yabloko party from participating in the September parliamentary elections, depriving opponents of the war in Ukraine of any parliamentary representation.

Judge Vyacheslav Kirillov issued an unambiguous ruling: "The requests to annul the registration of the federal list of candidates for the ninth session of the State Duma, submitted by the Yabloko political party, have been granted." The request had been filed by Rodina (Motherland), a nationalist party close to the Kremlin, which accused Yabloko of receiving undeclared foreign funding, without, however, providing any evidence to support this allegation.

Yabloko had vigorously contested these accusations in court, denouncing the complete lack of evidence. It was all in vain. The decision now deprives Russian citizens opposed to the invasion of Ukraine—officially classified as a "special military operation" under penalty of imprisonment—of any representative capable of expressing this opposition in Parliament.

Addressing a crowd of around a hundred supporters gathered outside the courthouse, party leader Nikolai Rybakov denounced a deliberate political exclusion. "Excluding Yabloko from the elections is refusing dialogue with people who ask questions that are inconvenient for the authorities," he declared, before announcing his intention to appeal. "We have a long road ahead of us and a great and important task: to stop the killings and bring back peace. Everything we do must be dedicated to this," he added.

Yabloko is the last remaining liberal party active in Russia, as most of Vladimir Putin's opponents have been imprisoned, exiled, or killed. The party enjoys the support of several exiled opposition figures, including Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexei Navalny. Yabloko currently polls at only about 3%, far short of the 5% threshold required to enter Parliament, and has not won a seat in the Federal Duma since 2003. United Russia, Putin's party, has won every election since then and is expected to repeat this feat in September.

Despite the suppression of all opposition to the war, support for the conflict is eroding in public opinion, particularly since Ukraine intensified its strikes on energy and logistics infrastructure located on Russian territory. The Levada Center, a non-governmental organization listed as a "foreign agent" by the Kremlin, measures this support at around 66%, its lowest level since the launch of the offensive against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Faced with dissent, Russian authorities have increased strict censorship and carried out mass arrests, forcing many activists and journalists to flee the country.