The Kremlin’s political bloc may have allowed Yabloko to register for the State Duma election as an experiment before moving to remove the party after its support began to rise, sources close to the Kremlin told Meduza.
According to one political consultant working with the presidential administration, allowing Yabloko onto the ballot gave the Kremlin an opportunity to test what would happen if a party with an openly anti-war position participated in the campaign.
The source said Yabloko’s ratings then began to rise, and an additional two or three percentage points could have affected targets set for United Russia and the distribution of parliamentary seats.
Meduza’s sources said the authorities then decided to eliminate that risk by having the party removed through the courts.
The Kremlin has not publicly confirmed this version of events. The Supreme Court said it canceled Yabloko’s registration over violations of election law.