Kathrine Frich
Eight members of the party currently sit in prison on politically motivated charges.
Elections usually bring a flurry of promises about taxes, schools, and local roads.
But in a country shaped by years of heavy conflict, one political group is pushing a very different agenda.
A dangerous message
Yabloko is Russia’s oldest liberal political party. Today, they are running on a strict anti-war platform for the parliamentary elections this September.
As the first parliamentary vote since 2022 approaches, they remain the only legal party openly fighting to stop the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Leader Nikolai Rybakov recently spoke to The Times about their core mission ahead of the autumn vote according to Digi24.
“The only goal of the Yabloko party in these elections is for people to stop dying and stop killing each other,” Rybakov said.
High cost of speaking
Pushing for peace carries massive risks under the current government, and the crackdown on opposing voices has been fierce.
Eight members of the party currently sit in prison on politically motivated charges. At the same time, the Kremlin has labeled twelve others as foreign agents to stop them from running for office.
Recent sentences have been incredibly harsh. In June, a court jailed deputy leader Maxim Kruglov for seven years over social media posts.
Amnesty International has tracked the relentless pressure. “It is clear [that the Russian authorities] want to cleanse the political landscape,” the human rights group stated.
Changing the mood
Despite the severe dangers, independent polling points to a quiet shift in public opinion. People are getting tired.
A recent survey by the Levada Center shows that while many Russians still support the war, an almost equal number would prefer to see peace talks begin. Only 29 percent actively favor continuing military action.
Rybakov believes a massive voter turnout for his party could send an undeniable signal, showing President Vladimir Putin that citizens desperately want a new direction.
“Our [official] results are not important. What is important is that the atmosphere changes in Russia and that Putin and other decision-makers see that tens of millions of people were able to take unified and common civic action by voting for peace,” he told The Times.
Facing the block
Reaching the ballot remains a huge hurdle, as authorities could easily ban the entire party soon.
Rybakov himself is already barred from the race. A court convicted him for posting a photo of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, calling the tribute extremist.
If Yabloko somehow survives the legal blocks, they hope to give millions of weary voters a real choice at the ballot box.
Sources: Digi24, The Times, Amnesty International, Levada Center, FOM, Vlast
