Russia’s Supreme Court has ruled to exclude the country’s only registered anti-war party, Yabloko, from the upcoming parliamentary election. The decision has dismayed some voters and supporters of the party, who see it as a further restriction on their ability to express opposition to the ongoing war with Ukraine.
Background
Yabloko, which has a handful of regional seats, had used its campaign platform to promote a call for Russia to sign a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine. The party denies allegations that it received undeclared campaign support from Western sources, which was the basis for the lawsuit upheld by the court.
Some voters, like Alla Galieva, who was visiting Moscow from her hometown of Barnaul in western Siberia, criticized the court’s decision. "It was wrong to bar them. Why not give them the opportunity to put forward some of their own plans and ideas?" she said. Another Moscow resident, Tatyana Uvarova, expressed similar sentiments, saying, "Democracy should not be restricted in this way. I’d prefer if everyone who wants to should be able to put forward their programme and try to run in an election on equal terms."
The level of war fatigue and anti-war sentiment in Russia is difficult to assess due to strict state controls on dissent. However, the ban on Yabloko’s participation in the election has sparked concerns about the limitations on Russians’ ability to express their opposition to the war.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
