Press Release, 3.02.2026

Photo: Maxim Kruglov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

On 3 February, the Moscow City Court considered the appeal against the arrest of Yabloko Deputy Chairman Maxim Kruglov and rejected it, leaving the politician in detention. Kruglov has been held in pre-trial detention for four months already, with no investigative actions being conducted.

Dozens of Yabloko supporters, journalists and Maxim’s colleagues came to court to support Kruglov, including Yabloko Deputy Chairman Vladimir Dorokhov and Chairman of the Moscow regional branch of the party Kirill Goncharov.

Maxim’s lawyer Natalia Tikhonova, speaking in court, emphasised that Kruglov has an exclusively positive character reference, has no intention of leaving the territory of the Russian Federation, and has relatives living here whom he helps with everyday matters. Moreover, he has not been summoned by the investigation even once throughout all the months of his detention in pre-trial custody, and he cannot be kept in detention any longer.

Another Maxim Kruglov’s lawyer Sergei Badamshin, in turn, told the court that the decision of Zamoskvoretsky District Court to arrest Kruglov was unmotivated, unfounded and, as a consequence, unlawful.

The arrest should be lifted, the defence lawyers insisted.

Maxim Kruglov speaking during the proceedings drew the court’s attention to the fact that he was being accused of “authoring several lines on the Internet that appeared 3.5 years ago, judging by the case materials”:

“I have what is perhaps a subjective, but in my view quite reasonable, question: how many more months does the investigation need to investigate this complicated ‘crime’? I don’t think that, if reasoning from the point of view of common sense, this is some kind of complex, complicated case for the investigation when the accused needs to be held in pre-trial detention for four months.”

The court deliberated for about two minutes and ultimately announced its decision: “The appeal is rejected.” In total, the hearing lasted about 15 minutes.

It should be noted that Maxim Kruglov has been deprived of his liberty since 1 October 2025 and has been under arrest since 2 October 2025 on charges of publicly disseminating “fakes” about the army (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Yabloko is convinced that this charge has no real grounds whatsoever and is part of political pressure on independent voices.

Kruglov’s lawyers have repeatedly stated in court that the investigation not only has not a single argument in favour of arrest, but also has no grounds whatsoever for prosecuting the politician. Moreover, the case materials have been compiled carelessly, contain gross errors, and the prosecutor’s arguments in favour of arresting Maxim Kruglov do not comply with the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code.

On 25 November, Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow extended Kruglov’s arrest by one month – until 29 December 2025. At the appeal hearing, Maxim Kruglov delivered a speech in which he stated: “As Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party, in the system’s opinion, I cannot be at liberty”.

Then, on 23 December, Zamoskvoretsky District Court extended Kruglov’s preventive measure – for another two months, until the end of February. The hearing was held in a “closed mode”: Kruglov’s relatives and colleagues were removed from the building after 18:00.

In connection with this, on 14 January Yabloko appealed to the Supreme Court of Russia demanding an end to the practices of holding court hearings without public access. Such precedents create risks for the completeness and quality of judicial proceedings, whereas transparency of court proceedings is one of the key guarantees of public trust in justice, Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov emphasised.