Russian Court Gives Anti-War Politician Lev Shlosberg 11 Years

A sentence aimed beyond one defendant

A court in Pskov sentenced Lev Shlosberg, a deputy chairman of Russia’s liberal Yabloko party, to 11 years and one month in a penal colony on Monday. The 63-year-old was convicted of “discrediting” the armed forces and spreading what authorities called false information about the military, charges he rejected as unfounded.abcnews +1 The punishment is among the starkest recent examples of Moscow’s campaign against public opposition to its war in Ukraine.bloomberg +1

Shlosberg’s case centered on a debate in which he called for an end to the war and a Telegram post reproducing a British tabloid cover that paired an image of a bloodied woman with President Vladimir Putin. He has been held in pretrial detention since December 2025 and intends to appeal, Yabloko said.abcnews

Yabloko is squeezed before a national vote

The verdict landed as Russia’s Supreme Court upheld a decision barring Yabloko from the September 18–20 parliamentary election. The party had campaigned for a ceasefire, diplomacy and peace, making it the only registered Russian opposition party openly against the full-scale invasion.abcnews Several dozen supporters were reportedly detained after gathering outside the Supreme Court while the appeal was heard.abcnews

The twin rulings narrow both Shlosberg’s personal freedom and the legal space for an organized anti-war vote. Yabloko had been cleared by the Central Election Commission in July, but the Motherland Party challenged its registration over alleged copyright and campaign-spending violations and also attacked its Ukraine policy. Yabloko disputes those accusations and says it will pursue further appeals.abcnews

Peace advocacy recast as a crime

In his final court statement, Shlosberg said Russia had moved over three decades from hopes for freedom to the “almost complete destruction” of civil rights. He also said the war had changed every Russian citizen’s life and predicted the country would “shudder” when the true death toll became known.abcnews

Amnesty International called the prosecution an arbitrary reprisal for peaceful expression and demanded Shlosberg’s immediate release, alongside repeal of laws criminalizing anti-war speech.amnesty Yabloko described the term as a “barbaric sentence” imposed for calls for a ceasefire.abcnews The BBC reported that Shlosberg condemned the verdict as punishment for his political position.bbc

The sentence also reinforces the practical force of Russia’s “foreign agent” system. Shlosberg had previously received that designation and was convicted of violating its rules, which impose extra scrutiny and carry a heavy public stigma.abcnews With Yabloko removed from the ballot and one of its best-known figures facing more than a decade behind bars, the Kremlin’s message is directed as much at potential supporters as at the defendant.amnesty +1