Press Release, 29.07.2026

Photo: Yabloko’s State Duma candidates and party Chair Nikolai Rybakov at the Central Electoral Commission of Russia on 29 July 2026

The Central Electoral Commission of Russia (CEC) registered Yabloko’s federal list of candidates on 29 July 2026 for the election of deputies to the 9th convocation of the State Duma. The CEC’s decision was unanimous.

Yabloko’s federal list currently has 269 candidates with seven lead candidates. A further 135 candidates have submitted documents to stand in single-mandate constituencies.

29 July 2026 was an important day for Russia, Yabloko Chair Nikolai Rybakov stressed:

“For the first time in the past five years, the citizens of Russia have a real opportunity to vote for peace and freedom, and to speak out lawfully and safely in favour of a ceasefire agreement. Thank you to everyone who believes in us, who believes in a peaceful, free future for Russia. We call on you to join us and work together with us.”

Yaroslav Shcherbakov, leader of the party’s federal list in the forthcoming election and Chair of Chelyabinsk Yabloko, stressed that the registration of Yabloko’s list gives all Russians a chance at an alternative:

“Don’t miss it! Your help matters enormously to us — be active! Voting for peace, freedom, a life without fear, an end to repression, and the prevention of nuclear war — all of this is now something the citizens of Russia can do. For healthy change in our state. So that the individual — their life, their dignity and their wellbeing — becomes the main priority in our state.”

Russian electoral legislation is “regulated to excess”, and the party’s path to registering its list of candidates resembled “an obstacle race”, said Ivan Bolshakov, head of the Yabloko Analytical Centre and one of the leaders of the party’s federal list in the forthcoming election, in his remarks following the registration of the list:

“Yabloko’s list has been registered. The party will be on the ballot, and we are now launching a full-scale campaign for peace and freedom. Yabloko is the opposition, so during the campaign we are not going to keep quiet about real problems or join the general chorus of parties that vote identically in the Duma and propose absurd laws. We are talking about the most important thing — a ceasefire, the preservation of human lives. Rising prices, fuel shortages, internet blocks, and a high key interest rate — these are not separate problems, but the result of the government’s foreign and domestic policy, which all the other parties support in unison. You all saw this two days ago in the statements made by the leaders of the parliamentary parties at their meeting with Putin. Today the choice is very simple: there are all the other parties, which support those in power, and there is Yabloko — the only party for peace and freedom on the ballot. The choice is yours.”

Yabloko is facing unprecedented pressure — including in regions where attempts are being made to remove the party’s lists from elections, said Kirill Goncharov, one of the leaders of the party’s federal list and head of the Moscow branch of Yabloko, in his remarks:

“But Yabloko will be on the ballot, which means that millions of citizens of our country will have the opportunity to choose peace and freedom — to choose what absolutely everyone is missing today. We are entering this election with our visor up, and we will be the voice of those who have no voice today. And we hope that Russia will set out on the path of civilisation.”

Dmitry Anisimov, Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly and one of the leaders of the party’s federal list, in turn stressed that enforced uniformity of opinion had brought Russia to catastrophe several times over the course of the 20th century, which is why the alternative that Russians have been given today is extremely important:

“The citizens of Russia can show their attitude to what is happening and to the current government — can speak out against political repression, for peace and freedom. And I hope that in September the country will breathe differently. More freely.”

Yabloko is standing in this election with the shortest platform in its history — just 43 words long in Russian:

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 from fear and political repression!
For the preservation of life, respect, dignity and human wellbeing!
Our goal is a prosperous, democratic Russia!