Russian opposition politician Maxim Kruglov, deputy leader of the anti-war Yabloko party, was sentenced to seven years in prison on Wednesday after being found guilty of spreading false information about the Russian military. Kruglov, 39, was prosecuted over two Telegram posts published in 2022, the year Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Arrested in October, Kruglov denied all charges and argued that the case demonstrated the authorities’ growing intolerance of opposing views ahead of parliamentary elections, which Yabloko plans to contest. He told the court that the prosecution effectively criminalized dissent, saying political disagreements were now being treated as acts of hostility.

The Kremlin maintains that its strict censorship laws are necessary to preserve national unity during what it describes as a critical confrontation with Western countries.

Following the verdict, Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov criticized the ruling as unfair. He urged voters to back Yabloko if they oppose the current political climate, arguing that supporting other parties would amount to endorsing the status quo. According to Rybakov, the election offers Russians a clear choice between rejecting or accepting the country's present direction.