Moscow police detain two Yabloko parliamentary candidates over 2024 Telegram post

September 4, 2026 at 10:58 PM2 min

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Moscow police detained two Yabloko party candidates for the State Duma on Friday, September 4. Anna Shatunovskaya-Burno and Grigory Grishin face administrative cases under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses over alleged display of extremist symbols. The party says at least 12 of its single-mandate candidates have now been removed from the campaign.

Key Facts

Anna Shatunovskaya-Burno, a Yabloko candidate in Moscow's Preobrazhensky single-mandate district No. 204, was detained outside her home and taken to the Yakimanka police station.
Grigory Grishin, a Yabloko candidate in Leningradsky single-mandate district No. 197, was taken to the Akademichesky police station and released after a protocol was drawn up.
Both candidates face administrative cases under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which carries a penalty that can lead to removal from the election campaign.
Yabloko says at least 12 of its single-mandate candidates have been removed since the start of the State Duma campaign, and 36 opposition candidates overall have been excluded from federal and regional races.
As of September 4, 123 Yabloko single-mandate candidates remain registered, down from 135 at the start of the campaign.

Detentions and Charges

Anna Shatunovskaya-Burno, a Yabloko candidate in Preobrazhensky single-mandate district No. 204, was detained outside her home on Friday, September 4, and taken to the Yakimanka police station. Police drew up a protocol against her under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which covers the display of extremist symbols. Later the same day, plainclothes officers came to the home of Grigory Grishin, a candidate in Leningradsky single-mandate district No. 197, and asked him to go to the Akademichesky police station to complete administrative paperwork. Grishin, who holds a PhD in philology and teaches Russian language and literature, was released after a protocol was drawn up under the same article. The claims against both candidates stem from a Telegram post Grishin published in 2024.

Campaign Impact

If a court finds them guilty, both Grishin and Shatunovskaya-Burno will be removed from the election campaign. Yabloko says at least 12 of its single-mandate candidates have been removed since the start of the State Duma campaign. The party reports that authorities have excluded at least 36 opposition candidates from State Duma and regional parliament races, including 19 from Yabloko, eight Communists, six from other parties, and three independents. In 27 cases, the reason was an administrative case under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. As of September 4, 123 Yabloko single-mandate candidates remain registered, down from 135 at the start of the campaign.