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.

In his lawsuit against the city administration, Grigory Gribenko asks the court to:

– declare the Mayor’s Office’s ban on holding an already permitted rally in defence of Telegram and “For a Free Internet” on 1 March unlawful;

– oblige the Irkutsk administration to ensure the rally is held at the approved location on a Sunday within 1-3 weeks;

– collect 3,000 roubles from the administration for the legal fee.

It should be noted that the rally against the restrictions on the Telegram messenger was originally scheduled for 1 March. The number of participants was expected to be limited to 300. The Irkutsk City Administration accepted the application for a rally but suggested holding it in a different location, but also in the city centre. The organisers, Grigory Gribenko and activist Pavel Kharitonenko, agreed and began coordinating all necessary preparations with the Mayor’s Office.

However, on 27 February, the organisers received a new letter from the Mayor’s Office running that the administration had reviewed Irkutsk residents’ social media accounts, discovered significant interest around the potential rally, and was therefore revoking its approval.

Irkutsk Yabloko leader Grigory Gribenko stresses that the decision of the city administration banning the rally is unlawful:

“Because Federal Law No. 54 does not provide for the revocation of a previously issued permit for a public event, especially based on the authorities’ hypotheses and assumptions. Therefore, tomorrow morning, a lawsuit will be filed in the Kirovsky District Court of Irkutsk challenging the administration’s decision, which must be reviewed urgently. If the court rules in favour of the administration, the event will indeed be impossible. This would entail penalties for both the organisers and the rally participants. We place the safety of the participants above all else!”

In his lawsuit, Grigory Gribenko also reiterates the position of the Constitutional Court, which ruled back in 2020: “Restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly established by federal law must take into account the presumed interest of organisers in maintaining the peaceful nature of the public events they initiate and cannot infringe on the fundamental content of the corresponding constitutional right or hinder citizens’ open and free expression of their views, opinions, and demands through the organisation and conduct of assemblies, rallies, demonstrations, marches, and pickets.”

Grigory Gribenko states in the lawsuit that the Irkutsk administration is grossly violating federal law, ignoring the opinion of the Constitutional Court, and violating the constitutional rights of city residents.

“The ban on the rally in defence of Telegram and the ‘For a Free Internet’ is not based on law, and the court must recognise this,” notes Alexander Kobrinsky, Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg regional branch of the Yabloko Party, who is providing legal support in the case.