Russia Bars Last Anti-War Voices From Duma Vote — SkimNews
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- Boris Nadezhdin, 63, fled Russia for Paris in late July after the Justice Ministry designated him a "foreign agent" on July 10, convicted him over a social media link showing Alexei Navalny, and then lifted an exit ban — leading him to apply for French visas from Kazakhstan.
- Yabloko party, Russia's only party openly opposing the war in Ukraine, was barred from the September 18-20 State Duma ballot after the nationalist Rodina party sued on August 7 over alleged Western donations; a Moscow court sided with Rodina and rejected Yabloko's appeal, though its candidates can still run in single-member constituencies.
- United Russia holds 70% of the 450-seat Duma, with remaining parties forming a "systemic opposition" created and managed by the Kremlin, according to former independent deputy Dmitry Gudkov.
- Yabloko's social media following surged before the ban — its Instagram grew by 100,000 in a few weeks and traffic to four platforms doubled — as young Russians posted coded "apple" videos, including one Red Square clip with 350,000 likes.
- United Russia's approval rating dipped in July to its lowest point since the start of the full-scale invasion, coinciding with Ukrainian drone strikes reaching Moscow and fuel lines stretching more than half a mile.
- Nadezhdin's 2024 presidential bid had gathered over 100,000 endorsement signatures before the Central Election Commission barred him over 9,000 allegedly erroneous signatures — a precedent he hoped to repeat with an "even more vigorous campaign for peace" that ended in exile.
Why it matters: The Kremlin's pre-election suppression of anti-war voices — a court-ordered party ban and a forced exile — comes as United Russia's approval rating dipped to its lowest wartime point. With Ukrainian drones exploding over Moscow and half-mile fuel lines, the September 18-20 vote is reduced to a ratification exercise rather than a genuine plebiscite.
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