Russia’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday, Aug. 10, to bar Yabloko from participating in parliamentary elections scheduled for Sept. 18-19, Kyiv Post reported.
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Rybakov told Reuters at his Moscow headquarters on Thursday, Aug 13, that the decision reflects the authorities’ growing concern that the party’s call to end the war has been resonating with voters.
“For us, the support of the people that exists now, which is completely obvious and impossible to hide, is far more important than the court’s decision,” Rybakov said.
Despite tight censorship laws and wartime legislation that have driven many opposition figures to leave the country or risk prosecution, Rybakov told Reuters that he has no plans to leave Russia.
“I am in Russia and will remain in Russia,” he said, adding that “it is only possible to change what is happening in Russia, to change the political situation in Russia, by being inside the country.”
Yablokov currently holds only a handful of regional seats and no representation in the State Duma, which is dominated by the Kremlin-backed United Russia party.
Rybakov said Yabloko would be a stronger-than-expected contender in the 450-seat lower house vote if the party were allowed to run. The party is currently appealing the Supreme Court’s ruling.
