Lev Shlosberg, a 63‑year‑old anti‑war activist, was sentenced by a Pskov court to 11 years and one month in a Russian penal colony for "discrediting" the armed forces and "spreading false information" about them.
Shlosberg, who serves as deputy leader of the Yabloko liberal opposition party, described the verdict as a tool to punish a person for his political, public and civil position. He rejected all charges, calling the trial an "imitation of an investigation" designed to achieve an illegal end.
Yabloko said it would appeal the ruling and earlier this month the Supreme Court rejected the party’s appeal against a ban on participation in the September parliamentary elections.
Yabloko remains the only registered party to openly oppose Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine launched in 2022. Since the start of the conflict, opposition voices have been silenced by wartime censorship, hefty fines and long prison sentences.
The Pskov court found Shlosberg guilty of "public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation." The prosecution demanded 12 years and one month; the court returned 11 years and one month.
The trial, which followed Shlosberg’s social‑media comments, was interrupted several times by the presiding judge. Shlosberg again called for a ceasefire and a political dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.
Yabloko was already struck off the ballots earlier this month after accusations that it publicly supports the "international LGBT movement," which Russia’s Supreme Court deems extremist. The party also faced a lawsuit from the pro‑Kremlin Rodina party claiming copyright infringement. Yabloko rejects both accusations.
All ten other parties participating in the September election support the war in Ukraine. While polls suggest the Kremlin’s governing party United Russia remains in power, independent election observers have been largely excluded from monitoring the process.
