Deputy head of Russia's only anti-war party Yabloko sentenced to 11 years over social media posts

A Russian court sentenced Lev Shlosberg, deputy head of the anti-war Yabloko party, to 11 years and one month in prison after finding him guilty of "discrediting the armed forces" and spreading "war fake news".

Source: Russian independent media outlets Mediazona and Meduza

Quote from Mediazona: "Lev Shlosberg was sentenced to 11 years and one month in a penal colony for taking part in debates about the war and reposting an Ekho Moskvy post featuring a Daily Mirror cover… The sentence reflects the combined penalties under the two charges, with Shlosberg's earlier conviction under the law on foreign agents also taken into account."

Details: The fake news case was opened over a repost on Shlosberg's Telegram channel on 25 February 2022 of an Ekho Moskvy post featuring the front page of the British newspaper the Daily Mirror. It showed a bloodied woman and Putin, with the caption: "Her blood… His hands."

The charge of "discrediting the armed forces" relates to a video posted on the Russian social network Odnoklassniki featuring a debate between Shlosberg and historian Yuri Pivovarov, in which Shlosberg argued for "a swift ceasefire in Ukraine".

Mediazona reported that Shlosberg pointed out that the repost on his Telegram channel had been made before Russia introduced the article on "fake news" and that the remarks made during the debate had in fact belonged to his opponent, whose position the politician disputed.

Meduza reported that all three of Shlosberg's lawyers were unable to attend the hearing. However, the judge refused to adjourn it and appointed another lawyer for him, despite the defendant's objections.

The deputy head of Yabloko received his previous sentence in November 2025, when he was given 420 hours of compulsory labour in a case over failure to comply with the obligations of a "foreign agent", a status imposed on Shlosberg in 2023.

Meduza reported that Shlosberg is one of the few Russian politicians who publicly opposed the war while remaining in Russia.

Background:

• Members of Yabloko, Russia's only party with an anti-war position, support a ceasefire, diplomacy and peace, and oppose nuclear war and political repression.
• On 10 August, Yabloko was barred from standing in elections to the State Duma (lower house of Russia's parliament). Russia's Supreme Court issued the ruling after hearing a lawsuit filed by the Rodina party, which accused Yabloko members of extremism and copyright violations.
• It was the first such case in modern Russian history: a party already registered to stand in an election was removed from the ballot.

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