Press Release, 8.10.2025

Photo: Grigory Gribenko at the monument to Babr, the symbol of Irkutsk / Photo by Pavel Kharitonenko’s Telegram channel

In the centre of Irkutsk, Yabloko activists held single pickets in support of their Moscow colleague Maxim Kruglov and all political prisoners. In addition, participants’ placards contained calls to cease fire and emphasised the Yabloko party’s position — for peace and freedom.

Pickets by the Irkutsk Regional Government building and at the Babr monument were held in particular by former Yabloko Irkutsk City Duma candidate Pavel Kharitonenko and regional branch Chairman Grigory Gribenko. Among other things, they called for the release of political prisoners, including Maxim Kruglov, arrested Yabloko Deputy Chairman and former Moscow City Duma deputy.

Kharitonenko’s picket by the building of the regional government attracted attention not only from passers-by, but also from officials. According to the activist, many who came to the administration (civil servants, heads of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and even the Public Prosecutor’s Office) were interested in the placard’s content and the action in general. They were particularly interested in who Maxim Kruglov was.

Photo: Pavel Kharitonenko / Photo from his Telegram channel

“The aim was to convey to the authorities that there are people ready to stand up for those persecuted for political reasons and who advocate for peace. I believe the aim was achieved,” Kharitonenko emphasised. He also described Grigory Gribenko’s picket as successful, as during the action many passers-by approached him with words of support and gratitude for his courage.

It should be noted that the action took place without police interference. Ministry of Internal Affairs officers only checked Pavel Kharitonenko’s passport and did not otherwise obstruct the picket.

It should be recalled that Maxim Kruglov was detained on 1 October by Investigative Committee officers, and then charged with disseminating “fakes about the army” (Article 207.3, Part 2, point “d” of the Criminal Code). The next day, Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow sent Kruglov to a remand centre until 29 November, imposing a preventive measure in the form of detention. The court ignored the personal guarantees of party leaders Nikolai Rybakov, Grigory Yavlinsky and Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexei Arbatov, as well as letters of reference from Kruglov’s workplaces and the fact that he had no criminal record or any previous problems with the law. The court nevertheless agreed with the public prosecutor’s untenable arguments that Kruglov could supposedly leave the country, despite the fact that his passport for travels abroad was confiscated.

On 6 October it was reported that the defence appealed Kruglov’s arrest. The court had no grounds whatsoever for imposing a preventive measure on Kruglov at all, let alone one as severe as detention, lawyer Natalia Tikhonova said.

At present, Maxim Kruglov is being held in remand centre No. 7 (Kapotnya, Moscow). Yabloko asks its members to write letters of support to Maxim.

It should be emphasised that Yabloko is the only political party in Russia that, since the start of special military operation in Ukraine, has campaigned under the slogan “For Peace and Freedom”. At the same time, since the introduction of repressive Article 207.3 “about fakes” into the Criminal Code (in 2022), several party members have been convicted precisely under this article. For example, journalist Mikhail Afanasyev received a sentence of 5.5 years of imprisonment, and the trial of Latin teacher Vasily Neustroyev continues. In addition, several other prominent Yabloko representatives are being tried or have already been convicted for “discrediting” the Russian army and under other repressive articles: Vladimir Yefimov, journalist and the leader of the Kamchatka branch of Yabloko, was sentenced in January to two years in a penal colony-settlement, and in Pskov the trial of party Deputy Chairman Lev Shlosberg goes on.