Application for a rally for free Internet filed in Kazan: Yabloko intends to demand free access to information
Press Release, 17.03.2026
Photo: Sofya Fyodorova, lawyer and applicant for the Kazan rally / Photo by the Tatarstan branch of Yabloko
Representatives of Yabloko submitted a notification to the Kazan Executive Committee regarding a planned rally in defence of a free Internet, the Tatarstan branch of the party has announced. The stated aim of the event is to “draw the attention of the public, the media, and state authorities” to the protection of citizens’ right to freedom of information, including the freedom to seek, receive, and disseminate it. In addition to opposing the blocking and slow down of messaging across the Russian Federation, Yabloko members intend to speak out against the imposition of the state messenger MAX.
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Posted: March 18th, 2026 under Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.
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On the Concept of Building a Premium-Class Residential Complex on Bolshaya Ordynka street in Moscow
Statement by the Bureau of the Moscow Regional Branch of the Yabloko Party, 16.03.2026
Photo: The building of the Automatic Telephone Switching Centre as it stands today (left) and the proposed residential complex (right) / Photo: by @Buegvl/Yandex.Panoramas, Archi.ru
The Moscow Urban Planning and Land Commission has approved the concept for the construction of a premium residential complex at 25 Bolshaya Ordynka. The implementation of this project entails the demolition of the first Moscow Automatic Telephone Switching Centre built in 1927 to a standard design by engineer Vaclav Patek. We consider this decision to be misguided and damaging to the historic character of the [Moscow historic region of] Zamoskvorechye.
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Posted: March 16th, 2026 under Environmental Policies, Protection of Environment, Yabloko's Regional Branches.
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Demanding free access to information is unlawful: the Office of the Irkutsk Mayor cites the Constitution to justify refusal to approve rally for free Internet
Press Release, 16.03.2026
Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Pavel Kharitonenko, activist and organiser of the “For a Free Internet” rally in Irkutsk, has received the city administration’s response to his application to hold the event. The refusal was expected; however, the grounds given are remarkable: demands for free access to information and freedom of expression are, according to the authorities, unlawful.
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Posted: March 16th, 2026 under Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.
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Irkutsk Yabloko has submitted a second notification for a rally “For a Free Internet” and in defence of Telegram
Press Release, 13.03.2026
Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
Today, on 13 March, the Irkutsk branch of Yabloko has submitted another notification to the Irkutsk city administration for a rally “For a Free Internet” and in defence of Telegram. This was reported by Grigory Gribenko, Chairman of Irkutsk Yabloko and a member of the organising committee for the forthcoming event.
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Posted: March 13th, 2026 under Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.
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Moscow Yabloko demands that the authorities explain the reasons for the total shutdown of the Internet and mobile communications
Press Release, 13.03.2026
Photo by Roman Yarovitsyn, Kommersant
Since 6 March, there have been mass shutdowns of the Internet and mobile communications across Moscow, leaving residents of the capital at times completely cut off from the outside world and unable to obtain assistance or services. In addition, regional small and medium-sized businesses have been sustaining losses running into billions of roubles. The authorities, meanwhile, have not only failed to provide any explanation but have also offered no alternatives to protect Moscow residents from recurring isolation. On 13 March, the Bureau of Moscow Yabloko set out its demands: that the authorities support businesses, improve the provision of information to citizens, and explain the reasons behind the total shutdown of the Internet and mobile communications.
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Posted: March 13th, 2026 under Freedom of Speech, Human Rights, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.
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15 years since the Fukushima nuclear disaster
Statement by the Bureau of the Yabloko’s Green Russia Faction, 11.03.2026
Photo: A Yabloko party event in Petrozavodsk, Karelia, on the first anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, 2012 / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
The disaster at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant has entered the history of nuclear energy as one of the largest man-made catastrophes in human history. The explosions at three reactor units, combined with the release of radionuclides into coastal waters, contaminated vast areas with hazardous materials. An enormous number of people were exposed to radiation. The consequences of the Fukushima disaster have not been eliminated. Radioactive water continues to flow into the world’s oceans. Untreated nuclear materials remain a potential danger to the populations of South-East Asia. Radionuclides, entering the food chains of marine ecosystems, are spreading far beyond the region. The threat of internal radiation exposure persists for millions of people in Japan and other countries, including Russia.
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Posted: March 13th, 2026 under Environmental Policies, Governance, Protection of Environment, YABLOKO for Nuclear Safety.
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The Federal Penitentiary Service is withholding information about Maxim Kruglov’s prison account, sabotaging his correspondence with the Public Monitoring Commission, and blocking his access to books and newspapers
Press Release, 11.03.2026
Photo: Maxim Kruglov in court on 27 February 2026 / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
On 11 March, Natalia Tikhonova, the lawyer representing Yabloko Deputy Chair Maxim Kruglov, shared several updates relating to her client’s detention in Remand Prison No. 2, Butyrka, in Moscow, where Kruglov is being held on charges of spreading “fake news” about the Russian Armed Forces. According to his defence, the politician has been unable to obtain from Butyrka any information about his correspondence with the Public Monitoring Commission or about his own monetary account at the Federal Penitentiary Service facility. In addition, he has stopped receiving books from the remand prison library and newspapers to which he holds a paid subscription.
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Posted: March 13th, 2026 under Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.
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A search was conducted at the home of Yabloko member Nikolai Markin in the Moscow Region: he was charged with spreading “Fake News” and released on an undertaking not to leave the town
Press Release, 10.03.2026
Photo: Nikolai Markin / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
On the morning of 10 March, police arrived at the home of Yabloko party member Nikolai Markin, where he lives with his mother in the town of Ramenskoye, the Moscow region. Police had with a search warrant. The phones of everyone present in Markin’s home were confiscated. Nikolai only managed to inform his colleagues that the warrant referred to the opening of a criminal case under Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, known as the article on “fake news” about the Russian Armed Forces. In the afternoon Markin was questioned by investigators, after which the charge was reclassified.
Nikolai Markin, 49, is a Yabloko member, urban heritage defender, and activist. In 2019, he ran as the party’s candidate for the town council. In January 2025, he was held administratively liable under the article on “discrediting” the armed forces (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) for a post on social media and was fined 35,000 roubles.
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Posted: March 12th, 2026 under Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Yabloko's Regional Branches.
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Grigory Yavlinsky “2050: Lisbon — Vladivostok. The Future, Politics, The Individual”
Grigory Yavlinsky’s website, 6.03.2026
“First, you know, a new theory is attacked as absurd; then it is admitted to be true, but obvious and insignificant; finally it is seen to be so important that its adversaries claim that they themselves discovered it”.
(William James, Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking, 1907)
In September 2025 I set out in my article “There Is Only One Solution” the key tenets of the conversation on the future: the end of an era, the exclusion of mankind from the centre of politics, technology risks and the need for a conscious move towards the future based on universal human values . This work develops these tenets, provides a more detailed line of reasoning on the proposed alternative and addresses the issues which arose during discussions of the September publication. This is a conversation about an idea that hardly anyone is ready to believe today against the backdrop of today’s tragic developments — that there is a positive future for Russia and Europe and the concept of a Big European Project with Man at its centre. Read more »
Posted: March 12th, 2026 under Foreign policy, Russia-Eu relations, Russia-Ukraine relations.
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“Equality begins with believing in one’s own worth”: Yabloko presents the first Galina Mikhaleva Prize
Press Release, 6 March 2026
On 5 March, the Yabloko party announced the laureates of the Prize “For Achievements in the Struggle for Gender Equality,” named after Galina Mikhaleva, human rights defender, Doctor of Political Science, and Chair of the Yabloko party’s Gender Faction. The establishment of the Prize was timed to coincide with the first anniversary of Galina Mikhaleva’s death (27 February), and the announcement of the laureates with International Women’s Day.
Galina Mikhaleva was one of the central figures of the Russian women’s human rights movement. Throughout her life she devoted herself selflessly to promoting the ideas of gender equality in society and combating violence and discrimination. To honour her memory and recognise those who continue her work, Yabloko established the Prize. Applications were accepted until 28 February 2026 inclusive, after which an expert jury — comprising politicians, human rights defenders, writers and journalists — selected the winners in five categories.
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Posted: March 12th, 2026 under Gender Faction, Human Rights.
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Yabloko’s Deputy of the Novgorod City Duma Anna Cherepanova urges Russian Ombudsperson to help women political prisoners Yevgenia Berkovich and Nika Novak
Press Release, 5.03.2026
Photo: Imprisoned journalist Nika Novak (left) and theatre director Yevgenia Berkovich (right) / Photo from Telegram channels
Anna Cherepanova, Deputy Chair of the Yabloko party and deputy of the Novgorod City Duma, is demanding that the rights of political prisoners Yevgenia Berkovich and Nika Novak be upheld. She has submitted formal parliamentary inquiries to the Human Rights Ombudsperson of the Russian Federation, Tatyana Moskalkova, as well as to the public prosecutor’s offices of Irkutsk (where Novak is held) and Kostroma (where Berkovich is held).
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Posted: March 5th, 2026 under Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.
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Chairman of Moscow Yabloko Kirill Goncharov calls on Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to lift the “covid” ban on public rallies in force since 2020
Press Release, 5.03.2026
Photo by Moscow Yabloko
A letter to this effect was sent on 5 March. In the letter, Kirill Goncharov reminds the Moscow Mayor that Moscow is regarded as a modern and dynamically developing metropolis whose residents are noted for their high level of civic and political engagement. Nevertheless, “for the past four years Moscow has effectively operated under a ban on the exercise of citizens’ right to peaceful assembly,” the Moscow Yabloko leader notes. The formal basis for this ban is clause 2.6 of the most recent version of Mayoral Decree No. 68 of 8 June 2020, which prohibits all public events on account of the covid restrictions then in force in Moscow.
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Posted: March 5th, 2026 under Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Yabloko's Regional Branches.
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“We will tell the truth. Full stop”: Yabloko hosts screening of film about journalist Yuri Shchekochikhin, “And the Ship Sails On”
Press Release, 4.03.2026
Photo: Screening of “And the Ship Sails On” / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service
On 3 March, the Moscow office of the Yabloko party hosted the première of a documentary film by Yulia Mavrina, “And the Ship Sails On” — about Yuri Shchekochikhin, a legend of Russian journalism, a politician, and a member of the Yabloko faction in the State Duma (1995–2003). The screenplay was written by Nadezhda Azhgikhina, Yuri Shchekochikhin’s widow, writer and journalist.
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Posted: March 5th, 2026 under Conferences and Seminars, Freedom of Speech, Human Rights.
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An appellate court upheld the ruling of the St. Petersburg City Court declaring a collection of articles by Yabloko Deputy Chairman Boris Vishnevsky “extremist”
Press Release, 4.03.2026
Photo: Boris Vishnevsky / Photo by Konstantin Lenkov
On 4 March, the Second Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the St. Petersburg City Court, which last November deemed a collection of articles by Yabloko Deputy Chairman Boris Vishnevsky “extremist material”. The book “Chronicles of the Reborn Arkanar” was published eleven years ago.
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Posted: March 5th, 2026 under Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.
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Russia is Europe
Grigory Yavlinsky on political prisoners, the 95th anniversary of Mikhail Gorbachev’s birth, and the shared future of Russia and Europe
Zhivoi Gvozd YouTube channel, 2.03.2026
Watch the video on YouTube switching into English subtitles
Mikhail Gorbachev was born 95 years ago, a man who freed everyone in our country from fear and gave liberty not only to Soviet citizens but to many millions of people across Europe. How we made use of the real freedom he gave us is our own responsibility. Gorbachev achieved what no one before or after him was able to achieve: in six years in power, he brought about positive change not only in his own country but also exerted a promising influence on virtually the entire world.
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Posted: March 3rd, 2026 under Economy, Foreign policy, Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Russia-Eu relations, Russia-Ukraine relations, Без рубрики.
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Grigory Gribenko, leader of the Irkutsk branch of the Yabloko party, filed a lawsuit against the Irkutsk Mayor’s Office over the revocation of a permit for a rally in defence of Telegram
Press Release, 28.02.2026
Photo: Grigory Gribenko /Photo by Irkutsk Yabloko
On 28 February, Grigory Gribenko, Chairman of the Irkutsk regional branch of the Yabloko party, filed an administrative lawsuit in the Kirovsky District Court of Irkutsk against the city administration.
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Posted: March 2nd, 2026 under Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Yabloko's Regional Branches.
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Leaders and activists of Moscow Yabloko laid flowers at the site of Boris Nemtsov’s murder on the eleventh anniversary of the tragedy
Press Release, 27.02.2026
Photo: Delegation of Moscow Yabloko
On 27 February, on the eleventh anniversary of Boris Nemtsov’s murder, members of the Moscow branch of the Yabloko party honoured the memory of the slain politician at the site of the tragedy – the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge near the Kremilin. Since the horrific crime, this bridge has been unofficially known as the “Nemtsov Bridge”.
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Posted: March 2nd, 2026 under Freedom of Speech, Human Rights, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.
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In Moscow, guests at the action of writing letters to political prisoners signed 500 postcards for women prisoners of conscience
Press Release, 27.02.2026
Photo: Participants of the action of writing letters to political prisoners / Photo by Vyacheslav Radchenko
On 26 February, the Moscow Yabloko party held its traditional the action of writing letters to political prisoners, this time the event was dedicated to women political prisoners and timed to coincide with 8 March, Women’s Solidarity Day. Journalists, artists, human rights defenders, activists… mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and girlfriends – strong and courageous women – need support and letters from outside just as much as male political prisoners, noted the event’s organisers and guests.
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Posted: March 2nd, 2026 under Conferences and Seminars, Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Yabloko's Regional Branches, Без рубрики.
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Moscow Mayor’s Office denied Yabloko a rally in defence of Telegram due to COVID-19 restrictions
Press Release, 27.02.2026
Ivan Bolshakov, a member of Yabloko’s Federal Political Committee, head of the party’s Analytical Centre, and the party’s representative to the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation, received a response from Moscow Mayor’s Office to the Yabloko request to hold a rally in defence of Telegram in Moscow. The letter, signed by Andrei Zakharov, Deputy Head of the Moscow Department of Regional Security and Anti-Corruption, denied the rally due to COVID-19 restrictions in place in Moscow since 2020.
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Posted: March 2nd, 2026 under Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Yabloko's Regional Branches.
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Irkutsk authorities revoked their permit for a rally in defence of the Telegram messenger due to the large number of people wishing to participate.
Press Release, 27.02.2026
Photo by Sergei Konkov, Kommersant
Irkutsk Yabloko leader Grigory Gribenko received a letter from Alexandra Yegorova, head of the Irkutsk Administration’s Department for the Implementation of Public Initiatives, effectively denying the permission to hold a rally in defense of Telegram and “For a Free Internet,” which the administration had issued earlier. The reason given was the excessive number of people wishing to participate.
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Posted: March 2nd, 2026 under Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Yabloko's Regional Branches.
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