Nationalist Rodina Party Sues to Disqualify Yabloko From Duma Elections

Russia's nationalist Rodina party filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court on Friday seeking to disqualify the liberal Yabloko party from the upcoming State Duma elections. Rodina leader Alexei Zhuravlyov announced the filing to reporters outside the courthouse.

Zhuravlyov, who sits in the State Duma as a member of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, described Yabloko members as "national traitors" who work for the West and hold Western values. He also claimed his party had uncovered financial violations by Yabloko, though he offered no evidence to support the accusation.

Yabloko responded by threatening to sue Zhuravlyov for defamation over his comments. The Supreme Court confirmed on Friday that it had received Rodina's filing.

The lawsuit follows a public confrontation between Zhuravlyov and Yabloko chairman Nikolay Rybakov at a Central Election Commission meeting last week.

Election backdrop

Election officials have already cleared more than 400 Yabloko candidates to run in September's parliamentary vote, where the party is campaigning on a pro-peace platform — currently the only officially registered party doing so, amid a wider crackdown on dissent. Rodina is among 12 parties approved to contest seats in the lower house.

In recent years, Russian authorities have jailed several prominent Yabloko members over their opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. Exiled opposition figures, including Yulia Navalnaya and Vladimir Kara-Murza, have publicly endorsed the party. Rybakov, however, has sought to distance Yabloko from these exiled dissidents, writing on Telegram Thursday that their support could jeopardize the party's place on the ballot under current rules.