Yabloko party official sentenced as arrests occur at Supreme Court

On August 17, 2026, Lev Shlosberg, deputy chairman of Russia's liberal Yabloko party, was sentenced to 11 years and one month in a penal colony. The Pskov city court convicted him on charges of discrediting the Russian armed forces and spreading false information regarding the war in Ukraine, which he had publicly labeled a disaster for Russia during his trial. Shlosberg maintained his innocence, characterizing the proceedings as a political trial and reiterating his call for a ceasefire.

Simultaneously, Russian authorities arrested approximately sixty people in Moscow who had gathered outside the Supreme Court. The crowd had assembled to support the party during an appeal hearing regarding the Supreme Court's August 10 decision to ban Yabloko from participating in next month’s parliamentary elections. Kirill Goncharov, the head of the Moscow branch of Yabloko, confirmed that police forcibly cleared supporters and journalists from the area. The situation remains tense as the party faces systemic exclusion from the upcoming electoral process.