Press Release, 8.05.2026

Photo: Alexander Shishlov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Today, 8 May, Igor Ryabinnikov, magistrate of Court District No. 153 of the Petrogradsky District of St. Petersburg, delivered a ruling in the administrative case against Alexander Shishlov, Coordinator of Yabloko’s Federal Political Committee and former leader of the Yabloko faction in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly. The court found Shishlov guilty of violating Article 13.15 Part 9 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation — that is, of “abuse of freedom of mass media” — and imposed a fine of 30,000 roubles.

It should be noted that the basis for the administrative prosecution of Alexander Shishlov was a Telegram repost made three years ago — an interview with Grigory Yavlinsky for the Zhivoy Gvozd project.

Key moments of the proceedings:

The defence (Alexander Shishlov’s interests are represented by defence lawyers Andrei Chertkov and Vitaly Isakov) consistently pointed to serious procedural violations and the absence of the elements of an offence. Motions were filed to transfer the case on jurisdictional grounds, to return the record to its author, to exclude the inadmissible “specialist opinion” of Alexei Bogachev, to summon Inspector Egorov, and to examine a compact disc containing video footage.

On 30 April, the prosecution’s key “specialist”, Alexei Bogachev, was examined in court. The case rested entirely on his opinion. Bogachev appeared flustered, contradicted himself in his testimony, and was unable to explain why he had “failed to notice” the visual disclaimers that were present on screen for almost the entire duration of the interview.

The defence expert — distinguished philologist Svetlana Drugoveiko-Dolzhanskaya, Senior Research Fellow at the Vinogradov Institute of the Russian Language of the Russian Academy of Sciences, member of the Academy’s Spelling Commission and of the Philological Council of the Total Dictation project, — noted that Bogachev’s opinion was probabilistic in nature, failed to meet the requirements of a comprehensive expert examination, and was based primarily on personal views.

The defence maintained that Shishlov’s actions lacked all constituent elements of an offence: the allegedly false information was not specified, “prior knowledge” was not established, no real threat to public safety was demonstrated, and there were material violations in the collection of evidence.

In the course of his address, advocate Andrei Chertkov drew a striking parallel with Soviet-era trials, quoting from Yuly Kim’s play Moscow Kitchens (1988):

Chief: Well, there’s not much to think about here: This is the most genuine rank-and-file anti-Soviet agitation. Deliberate fabrications alongside slander Against our political, state, public, and so forth order. Pursuant to the Criminal Code, Article 70. Your recommendations.

Assistant: Take them in. Take them in! We must take them in, Comrade General.

Chief (reading the text of a placard): The text of the placard demands of the Central Committee freedom for political prisoners. But among all enlightened peoples It is well known that we have no political prisoners. Ever since we did away with the cult of personality, Only common criminality remains in evidence…

“We asked the court either to dismiss the case in view of the manifest absence of the constituent elements of an offence, or to return the record to its author for revision. Unfortunately, the court did not see fit to do so. We consider the ruling unlawful and unsubstantiated, and shall appeal it,” said Andrei Chertkov.

The proceedings in the case of Alexander Shishlov illustrate everything that is happening in Russia right now, emphasises Yabloko party Chairman Nikolai Rybakov:

“Alexander Shishlov has devoted 35 years of his life to the struggle for the establishment of the rule of law and for human freedom in Russia, including the right to freedom of speech. Today’s court ruling is a perfect illustration of the state of freedom of speech in our country. But the conclusion is only one — we must work harder for the future.”

It should be noted that just a week earlier, on 24 April, Shishlov, who was at that point still the leader of the Yabloko faction in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, had already been found guilty of displaying extremist symbols, again in connection with the same interview. That ruling stripped the politician of the right to stand in elections for a period of one year, thus banning him from the parliamentary elections and elections to the St. Petersburg Legislative Assemble, both are due in September 2026. Following this, Alexander Shishlov resigned his deputy’s mandate in the Legislative Assembly; his successor is Dmitry Anisimov, Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of Yabloko.