In Russia, a politician of an anti-war party was sentenced to 11 years in prison

The Pskov City Court sentenced Deputy Chairman of the Russian party "Yabloko" Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month of imprisonment. The politician was tried in criminal cases of the so-called repeated "discrediting" of the Russian army and spreading "false information" about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Shlosberg consistently opposed Russia's war against Ukraine and called for a ceasefire. One of the episodes of the case was related to debates with historian Yuri Pivovarov, in which the politician spoke about the need to end hostilities as soon as possible. The second concerned a repost of a publication on Telegram.

Shlosberg did not admit guilt on any of the charges. The defense pointed out that the publication, which became the basis for the charge under the article on so-called "fakes about the army," was made in February 2022, while the corresponding article appeared in the Russian Criminal Code only in March of that year. The politician himself stated that the date of the alleged violation in the case materials was falsified.

Since December 2025, Shlosberg had been in a detention center. Before that, other cases had already been initiated against him. In November 2025, the court sentenced the politician to 420 hours of compulsory labor for publications without the marking "foreign agent" required by Russian law. In April 2026, this sentence was upheld.

63-year-old Shlosberg is one of the most prominent representatives of "Yabloko" and previously was a deputy of the Pskov Regional Assembly. The party publicly advocates for an end to the war and a peaceful settlement.

The sentence came on the day of another decision against "Yabloko." The Supreme Court of Russia on August 17 rejected the party's appeal against its exclusion from the parliamentary elections scheduled for September. Thus, the party will not be able to participate in the State Duma elections.

Based on materials from: El País, Yabloko party