Press Release, 5.08.2026

Photo: List leaders Inna Boluchevskaya, Olga Tuzhikova and Anna Pavlova

 The Yabloko party has filed an appeal against a ruling by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Karelia of 29 July, which cancelled the registration of the party’s list of candidates for the election of deputies to the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia. The appeal has been lodged with the Second Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction in St. Petersburg. The hearing has been scheduled for 7 August at 11:00.

The appeal notes that the Supreme Court cancelled the list’s registration on the grounds that the package of documents allegedly did not include the first financial report. However, this report had been submitted to the Electoral Commission of the Republic of Karelia in good time, had been accepted by it, had been checked by a working group, and was one of the documents on the basis of which the electoral commission had unanimously registered the list of candidates.

The party’s lawyers point out that the court concluded the document was missing only because it found that Mikhail Kokochev, the party’s authorised financial representative, had not been empowered to sign the first financial report. In doing so, the court gave its own interpretation of the party congress’s resolution and the power of attorney issued by Yabloko’s Chairman, contrary to what they actually said.

Furthermore, the court entirely disregarded the fact that even if the electoral commission had had questions about how the documents were drawn up, it was obliged to notify the party of this in good time so that any shortcomings could be rectified. Instead, the commission accepted the documents, registered the list, and only later, during the court proceedings, claimed that they had allegedly been improperly drawn up.

The appeal also draws attention to the fact that the court did not examine the content of the financial report itself and did not explain how the alleged defect in the signature could have affected the conduct of the election or prevented the registration of the list. At the same time, the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation expressly provide for the possibility of rectifying such defects where they are identified after the documents have been submitted.

The party is now asking the Second Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction to overturn the ruling of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Karelia and to uphold the decision of the Electoral Commission of the Republic of Karelia registering the list of candidates.

The party will be represented in court by lawyer Vitaly Isakov, a candidate for the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Yabloko’s federal list.

The ruling of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Karelia has not yet entered into legal force. All candidates on the party list continue to take part in the election campaign. The ruling does not affect Yabloko’s candidates standing in single-mandate constituencies.

It should be noted that on 29 July the Supreme Court of the Republic of Karelia upheld a claim brought by the Rodina party and cancelled the registration of Yabloko’s list of candidates. The party considers this ruling unlawful and politically motivated, and intends to seek its reversal by all means provided for by law.

In addition, Yabloko has also appealed at the St. Petersburg City Court against the refusal to register its party list for the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly election. Also the party is appealing at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Karelia against the refusal to register its list of candidates for the Petrozavodsk City Council election.