Russia’s elections: What is left of the opposition?

In the months leading up to Russia’s 2026 legislative elections, the first since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has further narrowed the already limited space for the country’s controlled opposition.

Parties that once provided the appearance of political choice without seriously challenging the government are now facing restrictions when voters could use them to express anti-war sentiment.

On 10 August, courts barred Yabloko, the only party running on an anti-war platform, from participating in the elections.

The party faced a myriad of allegations, including support for the “international LGBT movement,” receiving funding from abroad, and copyright infringement. Around 500 people rallied outside the Supreme Court in Moscow as the ruling was delivered, with police detaining several participants the following week.

At an appeal hearing on 17 August, police detained a further 85 Yabloko supporters. Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg was sentenced to over 11 years in prison for “discrediting the Russian military,” while individual Yabloko candidates have also continued to face removal from single-mandate races.

Pressure has extended beyond Yabloko. Opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin, who attempted to challenge Vladimir Putin in the 2024 presidential election, was prevented from standing after being fined for “displaying extremist symbols.” Fearing further charges since he had also been designated a “foreign agent,” Nadezhdin left Russia.

Even the Communist Party (KPRF), which holds 57 seats in the State Duma and has historically provided an outlet for protest votes, is facing pressure. Authorities barred candidate Nikolai Bondarenko from the elections after fining him for posting a photo of Alexey Navalny. His exclusion prompted coordinated one-person protests by Communist supporters across several regions.

These cases suggest that the boundary of tolerated political dissent has narrowed further, as the Kremlin no longer sees a need to preserve even the appearance of political choice. Four years into the war, the government appears increasingly unwilling to tolerate even the limited and largely inconsequential political competition once provided by Russia’s “systemic opposition,” particularly where it could offer voters a means of expressing opposition to the war or the status quo.

ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data) is an independent, impartial global monitor that collects, analyses, and maps data on conflict and protest.