Jabloko Party Appeals Removal from Russian State Duma Elections

The liberal Jabloko party has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court after its party list was removed from the upcoming State Duma elections. The Supreme Court originally ruled on August 10 that the party list should be removed due to violations regarding campaign financing and the use of intellectual property without attribution. However, the court did not remove Jabloko candidates running in single mandate districts, which include 131 people across the country.

The legal challenge originated from a lawsuit filed by Aleksey Zhuravlev, a member of the nationalist Rodina party. While the Supreme Court satisfied the request to remove Jabloko, the Rodina party also filed an appeal because the court rejected its claims regarding extremism in Jabloko's campaigning. Jabloko leader Nikolay Rybakov has called the accusations baseless and stated that the party is preparing lawsuits to protect its business reputation against those who made slanderous statements.

Outside the Supreme Court, police checked documents and press cards of supporters and journalists. Reports indicate that at least ten people were taken into police vehicles and three were detained. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the appeal on Monday, August 17.

Framing of the event differs by political lean. A center left source focuses on the legal specifics of the removal and the police actions against supporters. A center right source frames the event as the denial of the only anti war party's right to run in the election, highlighting the party's opposition to the war in Ukraine.