Press Release, 21.04.2026

Photo: Alexander Shishlov at the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly / Photo by the Legislative Assembly Press Office

The practices of using absurd administrative proceedings to bar Yabloko leaders from elections continues. Court hearings in the cases against Alexander Shishlov are scheduled for April.

Two administrative offence reports have been drawn up against Alexander Shishlov, Coordinator of the Yabloko Federal Political Committee and leader of the Yabloko faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg.

The grounds for initiating the cases was a repost published on 13 May 2023 in Shishlov’s personal Telegram channel, sharing a post from the Yabloko party channel containing a video interview with Grigory Yavlinsky. The post listed the topics covered in Yavlinsky’s interview with the YouTube channel Zhivoy Gvozd’, including references to the names of Anna Politkovskaya, Boris Nemtsov, and Alexei Navalny.

The first case has been brought under Article 20.3, Part 1, of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (“display of extremist attributes or symbols”). The second case has been brought under Article 13.15, Part 9 (“abuse of freedom of mass media”).

It should be noted that the originally drawn-up reports were returned by the court to the police on account of procedural violations committed in their preparation.

Alexander Shishlov has become the fourth Yabloko member against whom an administrative offence report for “displaying extremist symbols” has been drawn up, and the third such party member from St. Petersburg. Earlier, under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, fines were imposed on Legislative Assembly deputy Olga Shtannikova and on party Chair Nikolai Rybakov, a native of St. Petersburg. The leader of Pskov Yabloko and regional Legislative Assembly deputy Artur Gaiduk was fined under this article in April, and in February the Novgorod District Court fined Yelena Ivanova, Deputy Chair of the Novgorod branch of Yabloko, was also fined under the same article.

A court ruling under this article, once it enters into force, not only entails the imposition of a fine but also bars the person concerned from standing as a candidate in elections for one year. Elections to the State Duma and the St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly are due to take place in September 2026.

“The people in St.Petersburg who are devising these proceedings against Yabloko are displaying their utter political vulgarity and thoughtlessness. Nothing is more absurd than bringing charges of spreading extremism against Alexander Shishlov, a respected Russian politician. But such are the times. I believe they will not last long,” Yabloko Chair Nikolai Rybakov said.

Court hearings in the cases against Alexander Shishlov are scheduled as follows:

– The hearing of the case under Article 20.3 Part 1 will take place in the Petrograd District Court of St. Petersburg (9/6 Syezzhinskaya Street, courtroom 41) on 24 April at 14:00;

– The hearing of the case under Article 13.15, Part 9 will take place in the Magistrates’ Court, judicial precinct No. 153 of Petrograd District (23B Bolshaya Raznochinnaya Street) on 30 April at 11:00.