Press Release, 21.09.2026

Photo: Nikolai Rybakov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Yabloko could have taken second place in the 2026 State Duma elections had the party’s list not been removed from the race, Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov said at a briefing on the preliminary voting results. According to him, this is borne out by the data from polling stations, the results of candidates in single-mandate constituencies, and pre-election polls. Rybakov named the public support shown by millions of Russians for peace, freedom and a ceasefire agreement as the campaign’s main achievement.

Rybakov stressed that the campaign’s main goal was to defend Russia’s interests and the position of those who want to see it as a modern, strong, prosperous, democratic European state. According to him, the most important result had already been achieved before voting began on 18 September, when citizens publicly came out in support of Yabloko and its demands.

“This position, held by millions of our citizens, was seen by the Russian authorities, and our citizens finally saw one another too,” the party Chairman said.

Rallies in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and both large and small towns, Rybakov noted, allowed supporters of peace and freedom to feel that they were not alone. In his assessment, the campaign also showed the international community that millions of people in Russia do not agree with what has been happening.

“If, as a result of everything we have all done together during this election campaign, the deaths of people come to an end, that will be the single most important result of everything we have done together in recent years, including during this election campaign,” Rybakov stressed.

The Yabloko Сhairman called the campaign a political event of global significance.

“I can say that this is a political event of global significance, because a party that has not been represented in the country’s parliament for 23 years took second place in the polls — under the conditions in which we exist. And the authorities were unable to do anything about it, other than remove the party from the elections,” he said.

Ivan Bolshakov, head of Yabloko’s Analytical Centre, said at the briefing that the party-list voting results (it should be noted that Yabloko’s party list was ultimately removed from the elections under far-fetched pretexts, and the party calls this decision by the courts political) reflect neither Russians’ desire for peace nor the mood of citizens as a whole.

Photo: Ivan Bolshakov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

He criticised the system of compulsory electronic voting in Moscow and the fact that voters were denied the opportunity to use a paper ballot. According to Bolshakov, the campaign was accompanied by pressure on candidates, absurd lawsuits and court proceedings, a return to the criminal practices of the 1990s, and bans on distributing campaign material bearing the slogan “For Peace and Freedom”. He reported that around 600 observers from the party were either denied access to polling stations or removed during voting.

“We took part in this campaign with a single goal, which Nikolai Rybakov has already mentioned: to demonstrate Russians’ desire for peace, for a ceasefire agreement, for an end to repression, and for changing the current situation. But the party-list voting results today no longer reflect either that desire or the mood of citizens as a whole,” Bolshakov stressed.

In his assessment, the preliminary results indicate that the federal authorities’ political course will be maintained. He placed part of the blame for this on those who called for voting for other parties, including the Communist Party and the New People party, in the hope of depriving the ruling United Russia of its majority.

“Some people tried to play a rational game with the current authorities, and lost. And in doing so, they lost their moral, values-based position. Because voting for any party on the ballot may not amount to a vote for United Russia, but it does amount to a vote for Vladimir Putin, for the continuation of the ‘special military operation,’ and for his political course,” Bolshakov said.

He noted that it will be impossible to separate out the votes of citizens who support peace from the overall results of the Communist Party and New People. In his view, these parties will go on supporting repressive laws in the State Duma.

“Under these conditions, there was, and still is, only one position — the moral one. And it so happens that today, this position is embodied by the Yabloko party and the candidates who took part in the elections in single-mandate constituencies. And this is the strongest position there is,” Bolshakov said.

According to him, both the data from the GAS Vybory system and the information coming in from observers at polling stations show that this position could have received broad support in the elections.

In the near future, Yabloko will present a plan for its future work. According to Nikolai Rybakov, it will be developed together with the people who joined the team during the election campaign.

“It will be the result of joint work, not an instruction handed down by the party leadership for implementation,” the party Chairman stressed.

According to Rybakov, for many people, joining Yabloko marked the beginning of a new social and civic life, and a first step towards working together for Russia’s future.

“The party’s task is to preserve these people’s faith and hope, and their desire to stay together and build the country’s future. A shared plan of work is especially important now, as Yabloko renews and grows younger,” he concluded.