Press Release, 28.07.2026

Photo: Nikolai Rybakov / Photo by Alexander Nemenov, AFP

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has completed its review of the complaint by Yabloko Chair Nikolai Rybakov, leaving unchanged the ruling that had found him liable under Article 20.3(1) of the Code of Administrative Offences (displaying extremist symbols). The judicial panel upheld the decisions of the lower courts, including the Vyborg District Court of St. Petersburg and the Third Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction.

Earlier, on 4 December 2025, the Vyborg District Court had found Nikolai Rybakov guilty of the administrative offence and had imposed a fine of 1,500 roubles, as well as depriving him of the right to stand for election for one year. The case had been brought over a social media post expressing condolences on the death of Alexei Navalny, which, in the court’s view, contained banned symbols.

The politician’s defence insisted that the ruling be overturned, citing significant procedural violations. In its complaint to the Supreme Court, the defence stressed that the lower courts had applied “an expansive interpretation of the law” and had violated the principle of the presumption of innocence. His lawyer noted that the photograph of the opposition politician was not included in any official list of extremist materials maintained by the Ministry of Justice and Rosfinmonitoring.

Yabloko attributes what has happened to political pressure ahead of the 2026 federal and regional elections.

“The Supreme Court has made its ruling, but this will not change our plans. Hundreds of Yabloko candidates are standing in these elections to give the citizens of our country the chance to vote for peace and freedom. It is obvious that a whole series of cases under the same article against our candidates shows that public sentiment has changed, and the authorities can feel it. So all of this is not a fight against extremism, but an attempt to keep Yabloko candidates off the ballot. Together with my defence team, I intend to challenge the ruling in my case and to apply to the Constitutional Court,” said Rybakov.

It should be noted that thirteen party members have been held administratively liable for “displaying extremist symbols” (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences), a punishment which carries deprivation of the right to stand for election for one year.

These are party Chair Nikolai Rybakov; deputies of the legislative assemblies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation Alexander Shishlov and Olga Shtannikova (St. Petersburg), Emilia Slabunova (Republic of Karelia) and Artur Gaiduk (Pskov region); municipal-level deputies Dmitry Rybakov (Petrozavodsk City Council) and Tatyana Pasman (Pskov City Duma); deputy chairs of regional party branches Yelena Ivanova (Novgorod region) and Svetlana Vasilkova (Pskov region); party members Anton Kostryukov (Staraya Russa, Novgorod region), Tatyana Fedorova (Pskov), Kirov-based environmentalist Vladislav Arkhipov, and Anton Gendrikson, a candidate for the State Duma and the Kaliningrad Region Legislative Assembly. A corresponding protocol was also drawn up against the party’s deputy chair and Novgorod City Duma deputy Anna Cherepanova.