The Sverdlovsk District Court in Kostroma fined former Yabloko State Duma candidate Andrei Tarasov 1,000 rubles under an administrative statute banning the public display of symbols of an extremist organization.
The case concerned a photograph of Tarasov wearing a T-shirt bearing the words “I am against the party of crooks and thieves” and an image of a person kicking a bear.
An expert commissioned by the Interior Ministry said the phrase “party of crooks and thieves” was associated with Alexei Navalny and was subsequently used in the context of the activities of his Anti-Corruption Foundation.
Russian authorities designated the Anti-Corruption Foundation an extremist organization in 2021.
Based on the expert assessment, the image on Tarasov's T-shirt was treated in this specific administrative case as a display of prohibited symbols.
The ruling does not establish that the phrase “party of crooks and thieves” itself has separately been designated as extremist symbolism in every context in which it is used.
Tarasov said he plans to appeal the decision.