The liberal party Yabloko is fielding 98 candidates in this weekend's elections, a small miracle for antiwar Russians who cannot openly express their views. Grigory Grishin, a Yabloko candidate running for the State Duma, Russia's lower house of Parliament, in Moscow. Sept. 20, 2026. They have almost no chance of winning. Their party, Yabloko, was formally removed from the nationwide ballot in this weekend's elections. Their fellow party members have been sentenced to years in prison for their antiwar positions. None of that is stopping them.

The fact that Yabloko, Russia's oldest liberal opposition party, is fielding 98 candidates in 42 regions feels like a small miracle for antiwar Russians whom restrictive laws have prevented from openly expressing their views. As wartime repression deepens, the country may not see such candidates on the ballot again. "There were times in Russian history that were worse," said Grigory Grishin, a Yabloko candidate running for the State Duma, Russia's lower house of Parliament, in Moscow. "So, as the saying goes, 'The eyes are afraid, but the hands do the work' — we are participating. What else is there to do?"

The Russian Supreme Court barred the party at the last minute, citing minor copyright infringements and indirect foreign financing. However, nearly 100 individual district candidates remained on the ballot as voting began. Recent polling showed 18 percent of respondents would have voted for Yabloko on a party-list ballot, surprising analysts given the party's decline since 1999.