Press Release, 11.09.2026

 Photo: Larisa Dolzhikova’s campaign poster / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

The Smolensk Regional Court has annulled the registration of Yabloko candidate Larisa Dolzhikova, who was standing in the State Duma elections in the Smolensk single-mandate constituency No. 176. The claim to remove Dolzhikova was filed by Darya Shavrikova, another candidate in the constituency, representing the Greens.

The grounds for her removal were two publications on Larisa Dolzhikova’s personal VKontakte page, which the court ruled constituted campaign materials posted in violation of intellectual property legislation.

The first objection concerned a photograph of Dolzhikova with party symbols and the slogan “I am for peace and freedom”. The image carried a quotation attributed to Noam Chomsky: “If you believe that there is an instinct for freedom, that there is a possibility to change things — then there’s a chance that you will make the world better. The choice is yours” — together with the author’s name and an image of his signature.

The claimant argued that the publication infringed the copyright of Chomsky, co-author of the book “Latin America: From Colonization to Globalization” with Heinz Dieterich, and of the publisher Ocean Press. The court agreed that the quotation and the graphic image of the signature were independent copyright objects, and that their use required the consent of the rights holders.

The second ground was a fragment of a candidates’ debate broadcast on the Rossiya 24 television channel on 31 August. The video included studio footage, the “Rossiya 24 Smolensk” logo, the caption “Live Broadcast,” and elements of the channel’s on-screen design. The court ruled that these constituted the use of intellectual property without the rights holder’s consent. The video itself was subsequently deleted at the electoral commission’s request.

Larisa Dolzhikova contested the claim, arguing that the disputed materials had not originally been created as her campaign advertising: the photograph with the quotation had been taken back at the party’s congress on 5 December 2025, and the video was a fragment of her own speech at the election debates. The court, however, concluded that once posted on the candidate’s page, these materials had become part of her election campaigning.

The court’s ruling has not entered into force and will be appealed.

As of today, 118 Yabloko candidates in single-mandate constituencies continue to take part in the elections across 47 regions of Russia.