The Yabloko Party has unexpectedly won seats in the regional Duma in Russia’s only region
The Yabloko Party has preliminarily received 5.67% of the vote in the elections to the Novgorod Regional Duma. The Novgorod Region became the only region in the Russian Federation where the party was allowed to participate in the elections via a party list.
With one-third of the ballots counted, “United Russia” is in first place with 56.97% of the vote. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) received 13.95%, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) – 9.26%, “New People” – 8.06%, and “Fair Russia” – 5.22%.
“Yabloko,” with 5.67%, also cleared the threshold required to enter the Duma. The “Pensioners’ Party” garnered another 5.54%. Thus, according to preliminary data, seven political parties will enter the Novgorod Regional Duma.
Yabloko’s result is noteworthy given the challenges the party faced during the current election campaign. On the eve of the vote, the party lost the ability to run on party lists in a number of regions. As a result, the Novgorod Region remained the only region where voters could cast their ballots specifically for Yabloko’s list. At the same time, the party’s candidates continued to run in a number of regional elections in single-member districts.
The pressure also affected the campaign in the Novgorod Oblast itself. On September 9, the local election commission revoked the registration of Anna Cherepanova—deputy chair of “Yabloko,” head of the regional branch, and leader of the party list in the elections to the regional Duma. However, the party’s list itself remained on the ballot.
Problems also arose at the federal level. On August 10, the Russian Supreme Court upheld a lawsuit filed by the “Rodina” party and annulled the registration of “Yabloko’s” federal list for the State Duma elections. On August 17, the Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Court upheld this decision. Yabloko candidates in certain single-member districts, however, retained the right to participate in the election.
The formal grounds for revoking the federal list included, in particular, allegations regarding donations to the party, posts on social media platforms with restricted access in Russia, and alleged copyright infringements. “Yabloko” appealed the decision and alleged that its candidates had been subjected to pressure during the campaign.
Three days of voting in the State Duma elections began in Russia on September 18. It will continue through September 20. At the same time, even before the main voting began, independent Russian media and representatives of opposition forces reported pressure on observers, coercion of public sector employees, and possible violations in the organization of the vote.
Russia is preparing to hold illegal “elections” to the State Duma in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Voting is scheduled for September 18–20, 2026.
Through its Foreign Intelligence Service, Russia has launched a new propaganda campaign to create the illusion of legitimacy for the September “elections” to the State Duma. A statement from the SVR claims that the EU, PACE, and Western intelligence services are allegedly preparing destabilization efforts, cyberattacks, and provocations, as well as enlisting the Russian opposition to discredit the vote.
