Russian court sentences Yabloko's Lew Schlosberg to 11 years in penal colony for discrediting the army

Verdict in Pskow

A Russian court in the western city of Pskow has sentenced Lew Schlosberg, the 63-year-old vice-chair of the liberal opposition party Yabloko, to 11 years and 1 month in a penal colony. Judge Viktoria Maljamowa found him guilty of discrediting the Russian armed forces and spreading false information about the army. The sentence came in slightly below the prosecution's demand of 12 years and 1 month, which prosecutors had requested on Friday 14 August. Schlosberg's party confirmed he will appeal the verdict.

The charges against Schlosberg stem from two publications. One relates to a Telegram post from 25 February 2022, the day after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in which Schlosberg shared a post from the radio station Echo Moskvy featuring the front page of the British newspaper Daily Mirror. The image showed President Vladimir Putin alongside a bleeding woman. Schlosberg's defence argued that the post was published before the law criminalising false information about the army was enacted on 4 March 2022, a point highlighted by the exile outlet Moscow Times.

A second charge and a contested trial

A second charge concerns a political debate with the historian Yury Pivovarov published in January 2025, in which Schlosberg called for a swift ceasefire in Ukraine. The prosecution treated parts of the publication as further discreditation of the armed forces. Schlosberg countered that some statements attributed to him had actually been made by his interlocutor.

According to reporting by Mediazona and Novaya Gazeta, portions of the closing phase of the trial were conducted while Schlosberg's three lawyers were absent. The court appointed a state defence lawyer and rejected multiple defence motions. Schlosberg criticised the proceedings as political, stating that the Russian state had turned investigative bodies, prosecutors and courts into compliant instruments to silence citizens and curtail their rights.

Schlosberg's closing words

In his closing statement on Friday, which Judge Maljamowa repeatedly interrupted, Schlosberg reiterated his call for a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine. According to Reuters, he described the war as a catastrophe for Russia. He argued that the destruction of the judicial system amounts to the destruction of the state itself.

Yabloko party leader Nikolai Rybakov called the verdict a tragedy that illustrates the collapse of the Russian judiciary. He said Schlosberg was being punished unjustly for statements about the need for a ceasefire agreement and the saving of human lives, and was also targeted for refusing to leave the country as other opposition figures had done.

Crackdown on Yabloko supporters

The sentence follows a 10 August decision by Russia's Supreme Court to bar Yabloko from participating in the parliamentary elections scheduled for 18 to 20 September. Russian security forces detained dozens of Yabloko supporters in Moscow. Rybakov reported that no fewer than 35 people were taken into custody outside the Supreme Court, where the party's exclusion from the ballot was under appeal. The party published videos of the arrests. Media reported that police prevented both Yabloko supporters and journalists from approaching the court building.

Rybakov demanded the release of those detained and an end to police intimidation. He called on the Supreme Court, chaired by Vladimir Saizev, to reinstate the election commission's initial approval of Yabloko's participation. Human rights groups say hundreds of political prisoners are held in Russian penal colonies for criticising the war against Ukraine.