Russia jails anti-war politician Lev Shlosberg as Yabloko loses election appeal
Russia has sentenced prominent anti-war politician Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a penal colony, in a case that his party says is part of a wider effort to silence dissent. A court in the north-western city of Pskov found the 63-year-old guilty of charges including discrediting the armed forces and spreading false information about them. Shlosberg, who is deputy head of the liberal Yabloko party, rejected the verdict and said the trial was intended to punish him for his political and civic position.
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The ruling came just minutes before Russia's Supreme Court rejected Yabloko's appeal against a ban on the party taking part in September's parliamentary elections. Yabloko was the only registered party to oppose Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in 2022. The party said it would appeal, while the prosecution had sought a sentence of 12 years and one month.
According to a transcript published by Novaya Gazeta, Shlosberg used his closing statement to repeat his call for a ceasefire in the war and for political dialogue. The two decisions together deepen pressure on one of Russia's last remaining organised anti-war voices. Yabloko had already been struck off the ballots earlier this month after accusations that it publicly supported what Russian authorities call the international LGBT movement, which the Supreme Court has designated extremist.
A separate complaint from the pro-Kremlin nationalist party Rodina also alleged copyright infringement. All 10 other parties due to take part in the 18-20 September election support the war in Ukraine, leaving no registered anti-war party on the ballot. The case also highlights the legal risks facing critics of the Kremlin since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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Wartime censorship laws have been used to punish public dissent, with fines and prison terms available for those accused of discrediting the armed forces or spreading false information. Shlosberg's sentence and Yabloko's failed appeal come as President Vladimir Putin, in power for nearly 27 years, continues to preside over a political system in which opposition activity has been sharply constrained. Yabloko has long been one of Russia's best-known liberal opposition parties, but its electoral exclusion means voters will not have a registered anti-war option in the September parliamentary contest.
The party said it would seek further review of the ban, though it is unclear whether that will succeed before the vote. It is also not yet clear whether Shlosberg will appeal his sentence or how quickly any such challenge could be heard. The immediate next steps will depend on whether the courts allow further review and whether the authorities face any renewed public protest over the rulings.
Russia's Supreme Court has upheld the exclusion of Yabloko from September's legislative elections, removing the country's only explicitly anti-war party from the ballot. The ruling was delivered on Monday in Moscow and follows a decision last week that had already barred the party from running. Supporters gathered outside the court as the hearing took place, and police detained dozens of them.
The party said the Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Court upheld the revocation of its federal list of candidates for the State Duma elections. Yabloko said it would seek a supervisory review of the decision. According to the party, the case was brought by a nationalist party, which accused Yabloko of taking a peace stance, receiving foreign funding and committing copyright violations.
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During the hearing, police also pushed away journalists who had come to cover the ruling. Kirill Goncharov, head of Yabloko's Moscow branch, said many people had been detained and described the police response as nervous. He later estimated that more than 60 party supporters had been taken to nearby police stations, although some teenage detainees had already been released.
Inside the courtroom, Yabloko leader Nikolay Rybakov described the detentions as intimidation. Outside, one supporter said he had come to back what he called the remaining traces of a declining democracy. The ruling matters because it removes a party that has been the clearest electoral vehicle for opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine.
The decision comes amid a wider crackdown on critics of Moscow's war, and it narrows the range of views available to voters ahead of the September vote. For opponents of the war, the ban means their last option on the ballot has now been taken away. Yabloko has long been one of Russia's best-known liberal opposition parties, but the latest ruling places it under even greater pressure at a time when the authorities have tightened controls on political activity.
The same day, a separate case saw Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg sentenced to 11 years and one month in prison over comments criticising Moscow, underlining the broader legal risks facing party figures. Together, the developments point to a continuing effort to limit organised dissent in Russia's political system. What remains unclear is whether Yabloko's request for supervisory review will change the outcome before the elections.
It is also not yet clear how many of those detained outside the court will face further proceedings. The immediate focus will be on whether the party can find any legal route back onto the ballot and how the authorities respond to further protests or appeals.
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