Russia upholds Yabloko party's election ban and jails its deputy chair

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · Aug 17, 2026 · 762 words · By Irina Sheludkova

Freedom of Expression Political Repression Russian Judicial System

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Daily briefing

What to know about Freedom of Expression

The Supreme Court upheld Yabloko's removal from the September ballot hours after a Pskov court sentenced deputy chair Lev Shlosberg to more than 11 years in a penal colony for calling for a ceasefire in Russia's ongoing all-out war in Ukraine.

Claims checked 16

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left14%

Center72%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Russia's Supreme Court barred Yabloko, the country's only openly anti-war party, from September's State Duma elections on Monday, as a court in Pskov sentenced the party's deputy chair to more than 11 years in a penal colony for calling for a ceasefire.

Common ground

The appeals panel upheld a lower court decision to remove Yabloko's party list from the ballot.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Freedom of Expression story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that a further charge was brought over a Telegram post showing a British tabloid front page depicting a bloodied woman next to a photograph of Putin?
How does this story connect Freedom of Expression with Political Repression over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/17/russia-upholds-yabloko-partys-election-ban-a…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

schedule Pending 6

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “a further charge was brought over a Telegram post showing a British tabloid front page depicting a bloodied woman next to a photograph of Putin.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “The lawsuit to strike Yabloko from the ballot was filed on 7 August by Rodina”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that the Rodina party filed the lawsuit on August 7 to remove Yabloko from the ballot.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Legislative elections are scheduled be held in Russia from 18 to 20 September 2026. At stake are 450 seats in the State Duma of the 9th convocation, the lower house of the Federal Assembly. Going into…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Russian_legislative_elect…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The All-Russian Political Party "Rodina" is a nationalist political party in Russia. It was established by Dmitry Rogozin in February 2004 from Party of Russian Regions, one of the three key component…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodina_(Russia)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko (RUDP Yabloko; Russian: Российская объединённая демократическая партия «Яблоко», romanized: Rossiyskaya obyedinyonnaya demokraticheskaya partiya "Yabloko", …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yabloko

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 3: “In June 2023 he was designated a "foreign agent".”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the 'foreign agent' designation in June 2023.

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Claim 4: “He was convicted under Russia's "false information about the army" law over a Telegram repost from February 2022”

CORROBORATED

Evidence confirms he was convicted under the 'false information about the army' law (Article 207.3) for a Telegram post from February 2022.

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web search NEUTRAL — ..."spreading false information about the Russian army (part 2 of the Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code) - for a Telegram post made in February 2022 (even though the actual war censorship law…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Shlosberg

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web search NEUTRAL — Deputy Chair Lev Shlosberg, convicted under the “foreign agents” law, faces a new criminal case opened today.It happened just days before he was due to be released from six months of house arrest that…
https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/russia-authorities…

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web search NEUTRAL — Memorial reports that, in February 2024, Shlosberg was fined twice under administrative law for failing to label himself as a ‘foreign agent’ in publications he made, and in June 2024 for public actio…
https://www.rightsinrussia.org/write-to-russia-91/

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Claim 5: “cleared the 5% parliamentary threshold only once, in 1999.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 6: “He was also found guilty on a separate charge of "discrediting" the armed forces over remarks made on a YouTube debate”

CORROBORATED

Sources confirm a separate charge of 'discrediting' the armed forces stemming from a debate (specifically mentioning Yuri Pivovarov).

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web search NEUTRAL — The politician was convicted on charges of repeatedly “discrediting the Russian army” and spreading “fake news” about it. The charges stemmed from his participation in a debate about the war and shari…
https://en.zona.media/article/2026/08/17/shlosberg

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web search NEUTRAL — Lev Shlosberg is the deputy chairman of Russia's Yabloko party, jailed for 11 years for condemning the war in Ukraine and allegedly discrediting Russia's armed forces. What laws were used to convict L…
https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/russia-jails-opposit…

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web search NEUTRAL — The “discrediting” case stemmed from a recording of a debate between Shlosberg and the historian Yuri Pivovarov, posted on the Russian social network Odnoklassniki, in which Shlosberg argued for a swi…
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/08/17/he-stayed-in-russia-…

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Claim 7: “Yabloko representatives also worked within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “The Supreme Court upheld Yabloko's removal from the September ballot”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that the Supreme Court upheld the removal of the Yabloko party from the ballot.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nikolay Igorevich Rybakov (Russian: Николай Игоревич Рыбаков; born 24 December 1978) is a Russian public and political figure, leader of the Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" since 2019, execu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Rybakov

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Claim 9: “Yabloko was founded in 1993 and takes its name from the initials of its three founders: Grigory Yavlinsky, Yuri Boldyrev and Vladimir Lukin.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 10: “A subsequent case was opened in June 2025 for repeat "discrediting of the army" over a debate with historian Yuri Pivovarov”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found regarding a case opened in June 2025. Note: This date is in the future relative to current real-time data, but no evidence was provided to support it.

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Claim 11: “a court in Pskov sentenced the party's deputy chair Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a general-regime penal colony and banned him from administering websites for six years.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources specify the sentence as 11 years and one month in a general-regime penal colony with a six-year ban on administering websites.

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web search NEUTRAL — Later that month, Shlosberg was assaulted, resulting in injuries to the head and a partial loss of memory."Russia: Anti-war politician Lev Shlosberg sentenced to 11 years and one month in prison amid …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Shlosberg

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web search NEUTRAL — Russian politician Lev Shlosberg outside Pskov City Court after being sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for anti-war speech.The court imposed 11 years and one month in a general-regime penal col…
https://easternherald.com/2026/08/18/russia-shlosberg-yablok…

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web search NEUTRAL — Hours later, a court in Pskov sentenced the party's deputy chair Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a general-regime penal colony and banned him from administering websites for six years.
https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/russia-upholds-yabloko-partys…

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Claim 12: “a Pskov court sentenced deputy chair Lev Shlosberg to more than 11 years in a penal colony”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (Meduza, and other news reports) confirm that a Pskov court sentenced Lev Shlosberg to more than 11 years in a penal colony.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lev Markovich Shlosberg (Russian: Лев Маркович Шлосберг; born 30 July 1963) is a Russian opposition politician, human-rights activist, journalist, historian, political prisoner according to Memorial s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Shlosberg

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 13: “Rodina, an ultranationalist party whose chair, State Duma deputy Aleksey Zhuravlyov”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple other sources explicitly state that Aleksey Zhuravlyov is the chairman of the Rodina party and a member of the State Duma.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aleksey Aleksandrovich Zhuravlyov (born 30 June 1962) is a Russian nationalist politician and member of the State Duma. Since 29 September 2016 he has been chairman of the Rodina political party. His …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksey_Zhuravlyov_(politician…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The People's Patriotic Union "Rodina" (lit. 'Motherland'; Russian: Народно-патриотический союз «Родина», romanized: Narodno-patrioticheskiy soyuz «Rodina») was a Russian political bloc that existed fr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodina_(political_bloc)

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 14: “Yabloko's election manifesto, 43 words long, calls for "a ceasefire agreement, diplomacy and the achievement of peace."”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the manifesto was 43 words long and called for a ceasefire, diplomacy, and peace.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Grigory Alekseyevich Yavlinsky (Russian: Григорий Алексеевич Явлинский; born 10 April 1952) is a Russian economist and politician. He has held numerous positions in the Soviet and Russian governments…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigory_Yavlinsky

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 15: “In December 2025, Russia's financial intelligence unit added him to its register of "extremists".”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 16: “From 2006 to 2025 Yabloko was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), and cooperated with the European Green Party.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.