Russia’s Supreme Court Disbands Civic Initiative Party

Russia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the dissolution of the center-right Civic Initiative party, more than a year after it nominated the only anti-war candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

The ruling followed a petition by the Justice Ministry, which argued the party should be disbanded due to its failure to participate in elections over the past seven years.

Civic Initiative, founded in 2013, called the move politically motivated, accusing election officials of routinely blocking its candidates from registering to run in races. The party said it would appeal the decision.

“We don’t intend to simply abandon our own political agency,” Civic Initiative wrote on Telegram.

The party’s most recent presidential nominee, Boris Nadezhdin, was barred from the 2024 race over alleged irregularities in his endorsement signatures. His brief pro-peace campaign drew notable support from Russians opposed to the war in Ukraine, despite a wartime crackdown on dissent.

Civic Initiative previously argued that the seven-year period of inactivity cited by the Justice Ministry would not expire until 2027. It warned that its dissolution would prevent its candidates from participating in upcoming regional elections.

Just a day before the Supreme Court ruling, the party announced plans to nominate candidates in local races across six regions, including Leningrad and Kaliningrad. It was not immediately clear how the court’s decision would impact those plans.

Nadezhdin, who had served as a municipal deputy in the Moscow region, resigned from local office and declared bankruptcy following his disqualification from the presidential election last year.