Russian court bars "Yabloko" candidate over anti-war leaflet

The Krasnodar Regional Court has overturned the registration of 74-year-old Vladimir Atamanchuk, a State Duma candidate from the Yabloko party, following a lawsuit by Andrei Titov, a candidate representing the Greens party.

The ruling, issued on September 11, followed a dispute over an anti-war leaflet distributed by Atamanchuk. The leaflet called for a ceasefire and described the conflict as “fratricidal,” referring to “rivers of blood and an ocean of human suffering.”

Police detained Atamanchuk on September 10 and filed a report accusing him of “discrediting” the armed forces over the contents of the leaflet.

The politician had previously faced criminal proceedings in 2022 over allegations of repeated “discrediting” of the armed forces after distributing anti-war leaflets. That case was subsequently dropped, while a separate defamation case was opened. A court later sentenced Atamanchuk to 240 hours of compulsory community service.

By Tamilla Hasanova