Police in Yekaterinburg detained six candidates from the liberal Yabloko party over the course of a single day, with one accused of displaying extremist symbols over an AI-generated image featuring a pentagram.
The detentions began with State Duma candidates Konstantin Kiselev and Vladimir Sobyanin, as well as candidates for the Sverdlovsk regional legislature Shana Ognei and Alexander Kudelkin. Police later detained Alexei Kholodarev, a former city council deputy running third on the party's regional list. The sixth detainee was Vladimir Sevostyanov, a sitting deputy of the Sukhoi Log city council, who was brought to Yekaterinburg.
Protocols under Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code, which prohibits the display of extremist symbols, were drawn up against Kiselev, Ognei and Kudelkin. According to 66.ru, investigators were interested in artistic and neural network-generated images of fantasy world characters with a pentagram that Ognei had published. The post appeared as early as 2024.
Kiselev's case was based on old posts. The candidate said police examined his publications from 2019 and 2021. In one photograph taken during a protest against the detention of Alexei Navalny, a large letter "N" appeared in the background. The Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and Navalny's headquarters were added to the register of "extremist" organizations in June 2021.
According to the regional branch of Yabloko, Sevostyanov was issued a protocol under Article 20.3 over a 2020 repost. He was released after the protocol was drawn up. Administrative punishment under this article strips a person of the right to run in elections for one year. As of September 4, Verstka counted at least 36 opposition candidates removed or barred from the September elections. For 27 politicians, the reason for prosecution was "extremist symbols" on social media. More than half of those removed — 19 people — represented Yabloko. Earlier, the Supreme Court removed the party's federal list from the ballot.