Press Release, 25.03.2026

The Kazan Executive Committee has elaborated on its refusal to approve a Yabloko rally for Internet freedom and against the blocking of the Telegram messenger. The event’s organiser — Yabloko lawyer and activist Sofya Fyodorova — received a new letter from the city administration on the evening of 24 March.

The Executive Committee’s letter runs:

“The goal set out in the addendum to the notification — ‘Expressing a civic position on the violation of the right to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information by any lawful means, as provided for by Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation; ensuring free access to the internet and messaging applications’ — does not meet the requirements of Federal Law [on rallies] No. 54-FZ.”

Sofya Fyodorova submitted an application to the Executive Committee of the Tatarstan capital on 16 March for a rally of up to 100 participants. Co-organiser of the event was Ruslan Zinatullin, the leader of Yabloko’s branch in the Republic of Tatarstan, who had stated that there were districts in Kazan that regularly lost mobile connectivity and Internet access.

The city administration issued its refusal as early as 18 March, explaining at the time that the stated goal of the event was too vague and therefore unlawful. On 23 March, an addendum was submitted to the administration clarifying the rally’s purpose and bolstering the justification for its goal with a reference to the Constitution. The Executive Committee’s response to the addendum, dated 24 March, contains language similar to that of the letter sent to Yabloko on 18 March, with the sole difference that the authorities now specify that the goal of the event cannot yield an achievable result.

“They may be able to ban a rally. But they cannot ban people from thinking and speaking the truth,” activists of Tatarstan Yabloko emphasise.