Press Release, 29.06.2026

Photo: Ivan Bolshakov, Yana Ivanova, Yaroslav Shcherbakov, Tatiana Schneider, Grigory Yavlinsky, Nikolai Rybakov, Vitaly Isakov, Kirill Goncharov and Dmitry Anisimov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

On 27 June, Yabloko’s pre-election Congress took place in Moscow. At the Congress, the party determined its candidates for the 9th convocation of the State Duma. The federal list included 275 candidates, with a further 137 people nominated in single-mandate constituencies. The list was headed by seven young people: head of Chelyabinsk Yabloko Yaroslav Shcherbakov, St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly deputy Dmitry Anisimov, Deputy Chairwoman of Pskov Yabloko Yana Ivanova, defence representative for Lev Shlosberg Vitaly Isakov, head of the party’s Analytical Centre Ivan Bolshakov, Chairwoman of Omsk Yabloko Tatiana Schneider, and head of Moscow Yabloko Kirill Goncharov.

Among the candidates on the federal list, 72% were men and 28% women; 80.5% held higher education degrees, and 20 people (6%) held a Candidate of Sciences degree. The average age of candidates on the federal section of the list was 37. More than a third of the list (37%) were candidates under 40, while all generations were represented too: 21% were aged 40–49, 19% were 50–59, and 23% were over 60. Sixty-six per cent of the nominated candidates were party members.

It should be noted that not all of the party’s leaders are able to take part in the elections. The right to stand was denied to Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov, his Deputy Chairman Boris Vishnevsky, Lev Shlosberg and Vladimir Dorokhov, and sitting legislative assemblies deputies Alexander Shishlov, Olga Shtannikova, Emilia Slabunova and Artur Gaiduk. Deputy Chairman of Yabloko Maxim Kruglov had been sentenced to seven years in a penal colony (https://eng.yabloko.ru/38357-2/ ) on a charge of spreading “fakes” about the army on the eve of the Congress.

Election Programme

Photo: Yabloko: For Peace and Freedom! For Immediate Ceasefire Agreement / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

The Congress adopted the party’s election programme  — the shortest in its history, comprising just 43 words:

FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM!
FOR A LIFE WITHOUT FEAR!

For a ceasefire agreement, diplomacy, and the achievement of peace!
Our goal is to prevent nuclear war!

For a Russia free of fear and political repression!

For the preservation of life, respect, dignity and the wellbeing of people!
Our goal is a prosperous, democratic Russia!

Leaders and candidates on the meaning of the election campaign

Photo: Nikolai Rybakov speaking to the delegates / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

From the Congress podium, Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov addressed the millions of people who do not support the current authorities:

“Take action. Be citizens. Be people <…> I am convinced that moral responsibility for what is happening rests, to different degrees, with every adult citizen of our country. We cannot pretend that this has nothing to do with us. And our principal, fundamental civic responsibility right now is to do absolutely everything in our power to stop the loss of life and give our country a chance of a normal future.”

Grigory Yavlinsky noted that the point of Yabloko’s participation in the forthcoming elections was not to win a certain number of mandates, but demonstrate to both the authorities and society that those who want change and vote for an alternative are numerous. According to Yavlinsky, change had always followed the most tragic periods of history, and today Russia still has a chance to break out of its historical impasse. The first step towards this is the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement.

“We will fight for a ceasefire agreement, for diplomacy and the achievement of peace! Our goal is to prevent the special military operation from continuing and escalating into nuclear war! For a Russia free of fear and political repression! For the preservation of life, respect for dignity and the wellbeing of people!”

The 2026 State Duma elections are fundamentally different from all previous parliamentary elections, the party’s Political Committee noted. These are the first parliamentary elections to take place amid the armed conflict, when thousands of people in the country have been deprived of their electoral rights and freedom for their convictions, and when extensive use will be made of multi-day and remote electronic voting, which makes falsification easier.

“Despite these circumstances, Yabloko will take part in the elections to give its voters and all citizens of Russia a real opportunity to influence the future of our country, and their own future, peacefully, lawfully and safely.”

Statements by the leaders of the list are available to read and watch on the Yabloko’s website:

YAROSLAV SHCHERBAKOV, Chairman of the Chelyabinsk branch of the party, the lead candidate of the party federal list: “When there is an attack on Yabloko’s leaders, everyone must be ready to take responsibility and continue our shared work.”

DMITRY ANISIMOV, Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction in the St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly: “The idea of peace cannot be declared a ‘foreign agent’ or branded ‘extremist’. It is shared by dozens of millions of people.”

YANA IVANOVA, Deputy Chairwoman of the Pskov branch of the party: “What sets Yabloko apart from the rest is honesty. We are genuine. What we say is what we will do.”

VITALY ISAKOV, lawyer and defence representative for Lev Shlosberg in court: “Today people’s lives have been turned into statistics and reduced to figures in the news. People’s right to life must be restored.”

IVAN BOLSHAKOV, Head of Yabloko’s Analytical Centre and member of the party’s Federal Political Committee: “Voters now have the opportunity to say: ‘Stop this madness!’”

TATIANA SCHNEIDER, Chairwoman of Omsk Yabloko: “Women and their experience are essential in shaping Russia’s state policy.”

KIRILL GONCHAROV, Chairman of Moscow Yabloko: “Our campaign will become a catalyst for the transformation of political reality.”

Regional elections

Photo: Leader of the party’s list for the Karelia Legislative Assembly, sitting deputy and paramedic Inna Boluchevskaya / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

The Congress also nominated candidates for the legislative assemblies of St.Petersburg, Karelia, and the Sverdlovsk Region, the Leningrad Region and the Kaliningrad Region. The decision to nominate these lists at the federal Congress of Yabloko, rather than at regional party conferences, was prompted by the immense pressure being exerted on the party’s branches by regional authorities.

The list of candidates for the St Petersburg Legislative Assembly was headed by city parliament deputy Dmitry Anisimov, lawyer and assistant to a Legislative Assembly deputy Victoria Razina, public administration specialist Yegor Karpenkov, and political scientist Dmitry Khorzov. In total, 66 candidates were included on the lists, with a further 25 people nominated in single-mandate constituencies.

In Karelia, Yabloko’s list was headed by Deputy Chairwoman of the Legislative Assembly’s Committee on Healthcare and Social Policy and paramedic Inna Boluchevskaya, Petrozavodsk City Council deputy Olga Tuzhikova, and lawyer’s assistant Anna Pavlova. In total, 18 candidates were nominated on party lists and 15 in single-mandate constituencies.

The list in the Sverdlovsk Region was headed by Yekaterinburg City Duma deputy Konstantin Kiselyov, member of the party’s Federal Council Tatiana Gorshkaleva, and IT expert Alexei Kholodaryov. Seventy-one candidates were nominated on the lists, with a further 23 in single-mandate constituencies.

In the Kaliningrad Region, the list was headed by head of the party’s Analytical Centre Ivan Bolshakov, lawyer Roman Morozov, and entrepreneur Anton Gendrickson. Thirty-nine candidates were nominated on the lists, with a further three in single-mandate constituencies.

The list in the Leningrad Region was headed by Candidate of Philological Sciences, lecturer and documentary filmmaker Grigory Grishin. The list comprised 20 candidates in total.