Russian antiwar party Yabloko removed from Kaliningrad and Sverdlovsk region elections in latest wave of court rulings
Update: A Kaliningrad court has removed Yabloko from the ballot for the region’s election, the project Slovo Zashchite (“A Word to the Defense”) said.
A court in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region has sided with LDPR in a lawsuit, revoking Yabloko’s list for the region’s legislative assembly election, Yabloko’s press service said on August 28.
LDPR’s complaints included:
- Yabloko posted campaign announcements on Facebook and Instagram — a violation, LDPR said, since other parties avoided social networks blocked in Russia;
- Yabloko used the logos of Sberbank, Sber Pay, and Ozon Bank in a post explaining how to support the party — a violation of intellectual property law, according to LDPR;
- Yabloko spent campaign funds from outside its official election fund, according to LDPR’s estimate.
LDPR also drew on arguments from Russia’s Supreme Court, which revoked Yabloko’s federal list for the State Duma election in an August 10 ruling. One of those arguments cited an interview in which Yabloko founder Grigory Yavlinsky quoted the song Pust Vsegda Budet Solntse (“Let There Always Be Sunshine”) — an act the court deemed a copyright violation.
Yabloko’s press service said the party’s candidates remain in the race for 18 single-mandate districts in the Sverdlovsk region’s legislative election.
Russian courts previously revoked Yabloko’s registration for regional parliament elections in Pskov region and Karelia. Election commissions in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region also refused to register the party’s lists.
Russia’s Supreme Court in August removed Yabloko’s federal list from the State Duma elections, which will be held in September. The move followed a lawsuit filed by Rodina, which accused Yabloko of copyright violations and illegal payments for campaign advertising.
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