Russian opposition leader jailed over anti-war social media posts

The deputy leader of Russia’s Yabloko party, which opposes the war in Ukraine, was convicted on Wednesday of spreading lies about the Russian army and jailed for seven years, in a verdict he said showed public dissent had become illegal.

Maxim Kruglov, 39, a former lawmaker in Moscow’s city legislature, was arrested in October and charged over two posts he made on the Telegram social media network in 2022, the year Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.

The Kremlin says strict censorship laws are needed to keep Russia united during what it calls an existential confrontation with the West.

Kruglov pleaded not guilty and told the court — just over two months before a parliamentary election his party hopes to contest — that the case showed the authorities would not tolerate anyone who disagreed with them.

“In essence, this is a ban on dissent,” he said.

Kruglov rejected prosecutors’ claim that his posts were motivated by political hatred, saying his career had been devoted to improving life in Russia.

“It turns out that political disagreement is tantamount to hatred,” he told the court.

Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov condemned the verdict as unjust.

“If people think that such sentences are acceptable, that such sentences are normal, then they might as well not bother voting or support parties other than Yabloko,” he told reporters outside the court.

“Right now, there is a choice: to vote for Yabloko and say ‘no’ to what is happening today, or to vote for any other party and say ‘carry on’.”