St. Petersburg Court Issues Small Fine to Yabloko Chairman for Anti-War Ballot Messages

On Friday, a judge in St. Petersburg’s Vyborgsky District Court found Yabloko party chairman Nikolai Rybakov guilty of disorderly conduct for writing four peace-related slogans on his ballot during the Sept. 20 State Duma election, levying a fine of 1,000 rubles. Rybakov had inscribed “For Peace,” “For Freedom,” “For a Life Without Fear” and “For a Ceasefire Agreement,” and maintained that invalidating a ballot is a lawful means of political protest, citing that over 900,000 voters similarly spoiled their ballots.

He and his lawyers asked the court to dismiss the case, but the court ruled otherwise, briefly pausing the hearing for an evacuation order. The ruling occurs as Yabloko, Russia’s oldest liberal party and the sole registered group campaigning for peace, confronts intensified repression, including recent imprisonments of members such as Yelena Perepelitsa and widespread obstacles to its candidates in the 2026 elections, where United Russia secured a record majority. The case highlights the tightening of electoral controls and the criminalization of dissent in Russia.