The protocol against Nikolai Rybakov was drawn up under Part 1 of Article 20.1 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses, the Yabloko press service said. The case will be heard by the Vyborgsky District Court of St. Petersburg, with the hearing scheduled for Monday, September 29, according to the party.
The petty hooliganism article provides for a fine or administrative arrest of up to 15 days. No explanation was given for why law enforcement treated Rybakov's actions as hooliganism; Russian law contains no prohibition on invalidating a ballot.
On September 20, the final day of voting, Rybakov came to a polling station in St. Petersburg in the presence of journalists. He marked every party on the ballot, rendering it invalid, and wrote on it: "Yabloko. For peace," "Yabloko. For a ceasefire agreement," and "For Yabloko's freedom." Election commission staff did not stop the politician from showing the ballot to journalists and dropping it into the ballot box.
Yabloko's federal list — the only force admitted to the elections that opposed the war — was barred from the State Duma elections. The Supreme Court issued the removal decision on August 10. The party then urged supporters to come to polling stations and spoil their ballots in protest.
The outlet SOTA, citing a source, reported that Rybakov had been detained but was soon released. The circumstances of the detention were not reported.