News

The police have started delivering warnings to activists in the regions ahead of the elections, according to Vladimir Zhilkin, former coordinator of Golos in Tambov. Residents of Krasnodar, a major city in southern Russia, and the Moscow region have received similar documents, but the law enforcement officers are not explaining exactly what the warnings are about.

In Novosibirsk, one of the largest cities in Siberia, police detained activist Vasily Semenyuk after he held a solo picket with a poster reading: “I don’t vote for United Russia” on Lenin Square. He is being charged under the article on distributing campaign materials in violation of the law (Art. 5.12 of the Administrative Code).

An administrative offence report has been filed against Grigory Grishin, a State Duma candidate from the Yabloko party, for displaying banned symbols due to a 2024 blog post mentioning Alexei Navalny and Alexander Potkin. If the court finds him guilty, the politician could be removed from the election campaign.

The Saratov Regional Court on 4 September rejected an appeal by Communist Party (KPRF) candidate Nikolai Bondarenko and upheld an unchanged fine of 1,000 rubles (approx. US$11) for “displaying extremist symbols.” The case was triggered by a post in a Telegram channel featuring an image of Alexei Navalny, to which Bondarenko says he has no connection.

Anna Shatunovskaya-Burno, the Yabloko party’s candidate for the State Duma, has been released from the Yakimanka police station after being detained near her home. She spent about five hours at the station.

Television companies in Irkutsk have refused to broadcast pre-election videos from ‘Yabloko’ candidates Pavel Kharitonenko and Pyotr Mekhonoshin, sending their videos for review instead. The local administration also did not give permission for Mekhonoshin to hold an election meeting in the format of a rally in Akademgorodok.

In Moscow, Grigory Grishin, a Yabloko candidate for the Leningrad single-mandate constituency No. 197, has been detained—he was taken from his home to the Akademichesky police station for the preparation of an administrative offence report; the specific article is not yet known. Earlier the same day, Yabloko candidate for the Preobrazhenskoye constituency No. 204, Anna Shatunovskaya-Burno, was also detained.

In Chelyabinsk, a major city in the Urals, Artyom Kungurtsev, a representative of the Green Party, is demanding the disqualification of Yaroslav Shcherbakov, the Yabloko candidate, from the election, citing alleged copyright violations for publishing a video featuring Banksy’s graffiti and a quote from Andrei Sakharov. The Chelyabinsk Regional Court will consider the lawsuit on 7 September.

The Supreme Court has finally removed the Yabloko party from the elections to the Legislative Assembly of St Petersburg due to issues with the financial officer’s authority and the submission of the financial report. Party representatives say they corrected the mistake in the documents, but the election commission did not give them the chance to defend their rights.

Darya Bunkova and Nabi Balabekov left Russia after being arrested for taking part in a rally in support of the Yabloko party—they were detained on the day of their appeal, then sentenced to 10 and 15 days’ arrest for an “unauthorised rally” and “blocking pedestrian and vehicle traffic.” According to Darya, she was threatened during her detention, while Nabi was subjected to violence and threatened with a weapon.

The Second Appellate Court upheld the registration of Anton Kostik, a candidate from the Yabloko party, for the elections to the St Petersburg Legislative Assembly. MP Andrey Malkov attempted to have Kostik removed from the ballot, claiming that he possessed foreign financial assets, but the court dismissed the claim.

The Vladimir region election commission has banned the Yabloko party candidate Alexei Firsov from distributing campaign materials, sending them to the prosecutor’s office for an extremism check. According to Firsov, the commission’s decision has blocked the distribution of all his materials until the elections begin.

In Kostroma, a regional advertising agency refused to display campaign banners for Andrey Tarasov, the Yabloko party candidate, citing a ban by the city administration and explaining that all placements were occupied by information about the “special military operation.” In Vladimir region, the Election Commission has asked prosecutors to investigate the campaigning of Alexey Firsov, the Yabloko party candidate, for extremism, and the distribution of campaign materials has been suspended pending the review.

21-year-old Moscow activist Nabi Balabekov has been released from a detention centre after serving 15 days of arrest for distributing leaflets for the Yabloko party outside the Supreme Court. He was detained together with his spouse Daria Bunkova, who had earlier been arrested for 10 days under articles relating to violations of protest legislation.

In Moscow, Artyom Snegovsky, a State Duma candidate from the Yabloko party, has been detained. He is currently at the Maryinskoye police station, and the reason for his detention is unknown.

Ivan Telyatyev, the Yabloko party candidate for the State Duma from Mari El (a region in the Volga area), has withdrawn from the election due to pressure. This was reported by the party’s press service, which did not provide further details.

The electoral commission in St Petersburg has sent an election video by the regional branch of Yabloko to the prosecutor’s office for review for possible legal violations and suspended its broadcast. Candidate Olga Yurkevich said that afterwards she prepared a new video without any words, but does not know whether it was actually aired.

The police broke up a sanctioned picket by the Novgorod branch of Yabloko near the United Russia office, citing a report of a bomb threat at a nearby market. Participants in the protest had to end the picket due to the arrival of firefighters, the Russian National Guard, and dog handlers.

The Fifth Court of Appeal in Novosibirsk on 1 September reinstated Communist Party candidate Lyudmila Klyushnikova in the Altai Krai regional parliament elections, overturning the decision to remove her from the ballot. Klyushnikova was removed following lawsuits from her opponents, who claimed she submitted registration documents in two separate batches.

Nikolay Skrynnik, a 75-year-old refugee from Sudzha and retired Ministry of Internal Affairs officer, reported that he was forced to withdraw his candidacy from the Kursk Regional Duma elections after pressure from the leadership of the LDPR. According to him, he was told to delete posts that criticised the regional authorities and the United Russia party.

From 18 to 20 September, elections to the State Duma will be held in Russia. The actions of the authorities show that they fear competition of any kind.

The only party with an anti-war stance—Yabloko—has not been allowed to participate in the elections.