The small nationalist Rodina party has filed a lawsuit with Russia’s Supreme Court seeking to disqualify the liberal Yabloko party from upcoming State Duma elections, Rodina leader Alexei Zhuravlyov announced Friday

“The Yabloko party is full of traitors. These are people who work for the West and hold Western values,” Zhuravlyov told reporters outside the Supreme Court building. Without providing evidence, Zhuravlyov claimed Rodina had uncovered various violations committed by Yabloko

In response, Yabloko threatened to sue Zhuravlyov, who serves in the State Duma as a member of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, for defamation over his remarks

Russia’s Supreme Court confirmed receiving Rodina’s disqualification filing earlier on Friday. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 10

The legal action follows a public clash between Zhuravlyov and Yabloko chairman Nikolay Rybakov during a Central Election Commission meeting last week[…]
Yabloko remains the only officially registered political party running on a pro-peace platform amid a broader crackdown on dissent. Russian authorities have jailed several prominent Yabloko members in recent years over their opposition to the invasion of Ukraine