The ruling, issued by Judge Vyacheslav Kirillov, who in the spring declared the human rights organization Memorial International 'extremist,' came after a hearing that lasted more than eight hours. The judge read out only the operative part of the decision, without providing the reasoning. Yabloko's press service said it would appeal; if the appeal fails, the party will miss parliamentary elections for the first time since 1993.
Rodina's lawsuit accused Yabloko of copyright violations, illegal campaigning, and support for extremism. The plaintiff argued that Yabloko's anti-war stance amounted to calls for extremism: a representative of Rodina said that parts of Russia's territory are 'occupied by a neo-Nazi regime,' so calls for a ceasefire are calls to abandon their liberation. The party's disagreement with repression against the LGBTQ community was also described as support for extremism.
The copyright claims concerned Yabloko's use of phrases from Soviet songs 'Let there always be sunshine' and 'If only there were no war,' images generated by ChatGPT, and a photograph of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The plaintiffs also called Yabloko's logo a plagiarism of a poster by artist El Lissitzky created more than 100 years ago.
Representatives of the Central Election Commission (CEC) and the prosecutor's office supported the lawsuit. The CEC also said it had received information from Rosfinmonitoring, Russia's financial intelligence agency, about foreign funding received by some candidates on Yabloko's list. The party said this was due to a requirement to sell foreign securities before the elections and reported that actual foreign donations amounted to 16,900 rubles.
Hundreds of party supporters gathered outside the court building. After the ruling, they chanted 'Shame!' and police ordered them to disperse. Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov said the party would continue its work. CEC head Ella Pamfilova had earlier called for ballots not to be printed, allowing for adjustments.