Russia Supreme Court bars Yabloko from September parliamentary elections

Russia’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the country’s only anti‑war opposition party, Yabloko (Apple), is barred from participating in the September parliamentary elections. The decision, delivered in a brief hearing, effectively removes Yabloko’s candidates from the ballot and follows a series of legal challenges that have curtailed the party’s activities in recent months.

The ruling was met with a small but vocal protest outside the courthouse, where roughly a hundred demonstrators shouted “Shame! Shame!” in opposition to the decision. Yabloko has long positioned itself as the sole organized voice against Russia’s war in Ukraine, and its exclusion is widely seen as a further tightening of the Kremlin’s control over the political landscape.

The Supreme Court’s decision comes amid a broader crackdown on dissent ahead of the upcoming elections, raising concerns among observers about the competitiveness of the electoral process and the future of opposition representation in Russia’s political system.