Press Release, 18.09.2026

Photo: A screenshot of Nikolai Rybakov’s letter that was sent to the Central Electoral Commission

Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov has sent an urgent appeal to Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia’s Central Electoral Commission, in connection with numerous reports of pressure being placed on observers appointed by Yabloko candidates, and of obstruction of their lawful work at polling stations.

According to Yabloko in Tambov, police officers contacted every observer appointed by the party, summoned them for interviews, and issued them with formal warnings “on the inadmissibility of unlawful actions” during the voting days.

Such cases were recorded in Michurinsk and the village of Staroyuryevo.

Now, already on the first day of voting, new reports are coming in:

– In Moscow, observer Alexei Musatov was initially refused admission to Polling Station No. 197, on the grounds that he was supposedly on a “list of extremists”;

– In St. Petersburg, at Polling Station No. 1396, observer Yelisei Gubarenko was refused admission, with reference to his assignment letter allegedly having been annulled;

– Also in St. Petersburg, at Polling Stations No. 643 and No. 1358, observers were refused admission because they were registered as living in a different district of St. Petersburg, despite having submitted their documents on time.

In addition, St. Petersburg territorial electoral commissions (TECs) No. 60, No. 61, No. 62, No. 63, No. 29 and No. 21 sent identical notices to Vitaly Isakov, candidate for the State Duma in Constituency No. 217, placing the participation of the observers he had appointed in jeopardy.

“The scale of what is happening no longer allows each of these cases to be treated as an isolated misunderstanding,” Rybakov stresses. “I believe that all of the circumstances listed require an immediate, consistent response from the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation. Attempts to obstruct the lawful work of observers, unwarranted refusals to admit them, summonses to the police on the eve of voting, the unwarranted taking of observers to police stations, and other forms of pressure violate the rights of specific citizens and candidates.”

In this connection, Nikolai Rybakov is asking Ella Pamfilova to intervene and take the following measures:

– To immediately review candidate Sergei Mitrokhin’s complaint and ensure the lawful admission of the observers he has appointed to Moscow’s polling stations;

– To investigate the circumstances of the mass summoning of observers to the police in the Tambov Region, and to establish how the lists of appointed observers and their personal data came to be in the possession of law enforcement agencies;

– To assess the lawfulness of the actions of Moscow’s and St. Petersburg’s TECs and precinct electoral commissions in obstructing the admission of observers;

– To give electoral commissions and TECs across Russia an unambiguous instruction not to create additional restrictions, unprovided for by law, on the work of properly appointed observers;

– To ensure the prompt review of complaints from observers and candidates during the voting days, since a decision made after the elections have concluded can no longer restore the violated right to full observation.

Today, more than a thousand observers appointed by Yabloko candidates are working at polling stations in more than twenty regions. These people are carrying out lawful work that is necessary for society, Nikolai Rybakov stresses in his appeal to Ella Pamfilova.

It should be noted that Yabloko’s hotline for observers and voters is operating on the party’s website throughout all the voting days. Phone: 8 800 777 87 25 (toll-free call).

Photos and videos of violations at polling stations can also be sent to the “Yabloko – Support” account on Telegram: @yabloko_support26