Press Release, 31.07.2026

Photo: Yabloko’s delegation before submitting documents to the St. Petersburg Electoral Commission / Photo by St. Petersburg Yabloko

The Central Electoral Commission of Russia (CEC) has rejected Yabloko’s complaint against the decision by the St. Petersburg Electoral Commission to refuse registration of the party’s list of candidates for the election of deputies to the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly. The decision has just been taken.

It should be noted that the St. Petersburg Electoral Commission had insisted that the party’s representatives had submitted the necessary documents late. This is not the case. The complaint submitted to the CEC of Russia on 27 July presented evidence that all documents required for registration had been submitted to the St. Petersburg Electoral Commission on time.

Yabloko will appeal against the exclusion of its St. Petersburg candidates in the St. Petersburg City Court.

According to Yabloko, the electoral commission’s decision is unlawful, violates citizens’ electoral rights as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution of Russia, was adopted in gross violation of federal electoral legislation, and contradicts the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

In St. Petersburg, the authorities have been trying to remove Yabloko from elections for decades, using every means available to do so, Yabloko Chair Nikolai Rybakov pointed out:

“Just recently, sitting deputies were deprived of the opportunity to take part in elections: Boris Vishnevsky (designated a “foreign agent” by the authorities), and Olga Shtannikova and Alexander Shishlov — allegedly over extremist materials. This is because Yabloko stands up to those in power and defends the city and the people of St. Petersburg. That much is clear. We will continue to fight both for St. Petersburg and for the right to take part in the city parliament’s elections. Hundreds of thousands of our supporters in St. Petersburg deserve their own voice in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly!”

Yabloko is represented by two deputies in the current 7th convocation (2021–2026) of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly. In the 2021 election, the party won more than 9% of the vote, despite administrative pressure, a campaign involving near identical “doppelgängers” of the party list’s leading candidate Boris Vishnevsky, and mass falsifications on polling day.

In 2026, Yabloko is taking part in elections to the legislative assemblies of eight Russian regions: St. Petersburg, the Republic of Karelia, and the Pskov, Sverdlovsk, Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Leningrad and Moscow regions. The party has also nominated candidates in single-mandate constituencies in the Lipetsk region and the Altai Territory.