Russian police detained at least 35 supporters of the anti-war Yabloko party on Monday outside Moscow's Supreme Court as judges heard the group's appeal against its exclusion from next month's parliamentary elections. Among those taken into a police van was actor and Duma candidate Viktor Balabanov, along with party activist Yevgenia Titova.
Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov demanded the detainees' immediate release and an end to police intimidation, warning the court of an "official dismantling" of the electoral system that he said could lead to the destruction of the Russian state. The party published a report Sunday alleging that the five parties currently in parliament received at least 1.15 billion rubles between 2021 and 2025 in donations bearing signs of foreign funding, including nearly 812 billion rubles to United Russia from donors in 22 countries. Yabloko was barred over 16,900 rubles — roughly $200 — in allegedly suspect donations.
All ten parties cleared for the Sept. 18–20 ballot support President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.