Russia’s prominent anti-war politician jailed for 11 years
Anti-War Figure Lev Shlosberg Sentenced to Over a Decade in Prison
Ninoda.com – A Russian court in Pskov handed down an 11-year-and-one-month penal colony sentence on Monday to Lev Shlosberg, the 63-year-old deputy head of the liberal Yabloko party. He was convicted of publicly "discrediting" the Russian armed forces and of "spreading false information" about them.
Shlosberg dismissed the verdict immediately, framing it as a punishment rooted purely in his political and civic stance rather than in any genuine legal wrongdoing.
"The only task was to punish a person for his political, public and civil position," Shlosberg said of the ruling.
Yabloko's Parallel Legal Battle
The sentencing landed just minutes before Russia's Supreme Court turned down Yabloko's bid to overturn a ban barring the party from contesting the parliamentary elections scheduled for 18–20 September. Yabloko had been the sole registered party to openly oppose Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.
The party was removed from the ballot earlier in the month amid allegations that it publicly backs the "international LGBT movement" — a designation Russia's Supreme Court has labelled extremist. A separate lawsuit filed by Rodina, a pro-Kremlin nationalist formation, also alleged copyright infringement on the part of Yabloko. The party has denied every charge.
Every one of the ten other parties permitted to field candidates in the upcoming vote supports the war in Ukraine.
Trial Details and Broader Context
The criminal case stemmed from remarks Shlosberg posted on social media. Prosecutors had sought 12 years and one month behind bars. In his final address, Shlosberg rejected all counts and characterised the proceedings as a sham.
"An imitation of an investigation" conducted to "achieve an obviously illegal goal," he declared, according to a transcript published by Novaya Gazeta.
He also renewed his demand for a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the opening of a "political dialogue." The presiding judge cut him off repeatedly during the speech.
The case unfolds against a backdrop in which President Vladimir Putin, now in power for nearly 27 years, has overseen the systematic dismantling of remaining domestic opposition. Wartime censorship statutes have turned public dissent into a trigger for steep fines or lengthy incarceration.
State pollster VCIOM reported earlier this month that United Russia's approval rating had fallen to 32.1 percent, its weakest showing since May. Nevertheless, the Kremlin is widely assumed to retain sufficient leverage to shape the electoral outcome to its liking, particularly after independent watchdogs were stripped of most of their capacity to observe and contest the process.
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