Press Release, 11.09.2026

Photo: From left, State Duma candidates Oksana Boyarskaya, Valentina Komkova, Andrei Talevlin and Sergei Faryma. Yaroslav Shcherbakov is at the microphone. Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov meeting with voters in Chelyabinsk, 5 September 2026 / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Over the course of several days, the Chelyabinsk Regional Court annulled the registration of all five Yabloko candidates for the State Duma who had been nominated in the region’s single-mandate constituencies. The claims were filed by candidates from the Greens party; in four of the proceedings they were represented by Ilya Khabin, a lawyer from United Russia. Among the allegations levelled at the candidates were a work by Banksy, a quotation from Sakharov, a blue paper bird, an unidentified male voice in a video, and the hashtag #SwanLake.

Yaroslav Shcherbakov, Chelyabinsk single-mandate constituency No. 188, was removed from the elections following a claim by Artyom Kungurtsev, a candidate from the Greens. The claimant objected to Shcherbakov’s campaign materials, which had used Banksy’s work “Girl with a Balloon,” an image of Andrei Sakharov bearing the quotation “The disunity of mankind threatens it with destruction,” and the words of the Soviet diplomat Andrei Gromyko: “Better ten years of negotiations than one day of war.”

Andrei Talevlin, Metallurgichesky single-mandate constituency No. 189, was removed following a claim by Anna Valieva, a candidate from the Greens. The court ruled that publications by the candidate and by Chelyabinsk Yabloko on social media constituted campaign advertising. The ruling specifically described photographs in which Talevlin was pictured against party symbols, holding an apple and a blue paper bird.

The court also examined videos in which Talevlin spoke about ending the military action, about freedom, life without fear and political repression, and about his intention, if elected, to repeal “anti-democratic laws”.

Formally, one of the grounds the court cited for annulling the registration was a copyright violation: a post marking the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima had used a photograph of the Genbaku Dome and a quotation from Sumiteru Taniguchi, a survivor of the bombing.

Oksana Boyarskaya, Korkino single-mandate constituency No. 190, was removed following a claim by Vladimir Gertie, a candidate from the Greens. One of the grounds was a male voice heard in Boyarskaya’s campaign video. The court stated that it was impossible to establish to whom the voice belonged, whether that person was an adult citizen of Russia, and whether he had given written consent for his voice to be used.

The court cited further grounds, including the absence of mandatory publication details, the failure to submit the video materials to the electoral commission, and the posting of the video on a blocked social network. The prosecutor, however, had argued against granting the claim and had taken the view that Boyarskaya should not be removed from the elections.

Sergei Faryma, Magnitogorsk single-mandate constituency No. 191, was removed following a claim by Anton Anufriyev, a candidate from the Greens. Among the claimant’s objections was a post by Faryma featuring the hashtags #WeAwaitChange and #SwanLake. The claimant argued that “Swan Lake” was a reference to the August 1991 failed coup-d’etat and a symbol of political crisis and change of power. The court, however, did not separately find this reference to be a violation of the law.

The court also examined a video by Faryma, published after the Supreme Court’s ruling removing Yabloko’s federal list from the State Duma elecctions. In it, the candidate had called Yabloko the only party with a clear anti-war position, had said, “This is not our war, and we must do everything to stop it,” and had urged voters to support the party’s candidates in the single-mandate constituencies. The court ruled that this constituted campaign advertising.

Among the formal grounds for annulling the registration was the use of the Rossiya 1 television channel’s logo without the rights holder’s consent.

Valentina Komkova, Zlatoust single-mandate constituency No. 192, has also been removed from the elections. At the time of writing this press release, the party does not yet have the text of the court’s ruling: Komkova herself was unable to reach the hearing in time.

Chelyabinsk Yabloko links these events to the candidates’ high level of support and describes the situation as unprecedented for the region.

The court rulings have not entered into legal force and will be appealed.