The Kremlin takes no risks: the rival that gained strength was simply erased from the ballot

The only anti-war party in Russia, "Yabloko", has been disqualified from running in the parliamentary elections to be held next month. According to a report in the "New York Times", this move is a clear signal that the Kremlin refuses to tolerate political forces that question its determination to continue the fighting in Ukraine. The Supreme Court in Moscow accepted yesterday, Monday, in a hasty hearing a lawsuit that demanded to erase the party from the ballots ahead of the elections on September 18.

Kirill Goncharov, head of the party's branch in Moscow, clarified that Yabloko was prepared for the decision:

"We were aware that the more popular we become, the more trouble we create for the Kremlin. People want peace, freedom, and a life without fear. They want what this party represents."

If the party's appeal is not accepted within five days, its path to the elections will be permanently blocked.

The move is part of a broad effort by the Russian authorities to push out voices opposing the war, ahead of elections whose results seem guaranteed in advance for President Vladimir Putin's party, "United Russia". The lawsuit against Yabloko was filed by "Rodina", a small nationalist party, whose leader Alexey Zhuravlyov accused Yabloko of "working for the West" and treason.

Strangely, Rodina representatives demanded the disqualification due to alleged copyright infringements, such as quoting a Soviet children's song and not giving credit for a photo, even though the rights holders never complained. In addition, it was claimed that the party's call to end the war harms the "territorial integrity" of Russia.

Yabloko's popularity has increased recently, especially among young people. At the same time, senior party members are being persecuted: leader Nikolai Rybakov was disqualified due to the publication of a photo of the late oppositionist Alexey Navalny, and his deputy Maxim Kruglov was sentenced to seven years in prison for a post that exposed alleged Russian war crimes.

Although opposition figures have criticized Yabloko in the past for being soft on Vladimir Putin's regime, the resistance camp has now united around it. Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, recently called on her supporters to help the party. In response to the disqualification, Navalnaya said that "the Kremlin is alarmed" by Yabloko's popularity, and called to vote for any party other than the ruling party. Yabloko co-founder Grigory Yavlinsky concluded:

"The political system has revealed its face. Russian society wants peace and freedom much more than the authorities thought."