Russias Supreme Court Orders Dissolution of Anti-War Civic Initiative Party Amid Political Crackdown

On Tuesday, Russia’s Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the Civic Initiative party, which is center-right, more than a year after it put forward the sole anti-war candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

The court’s decision came in response to a petition from the Justice Ministry, which claimed that the party should be disbanded due to its lack of participation in elections over the past seven years.

Founded in 2013, Civic Initiative labeled the ruling as politically driven, alleging that election authorities consistently obstructed its candidates from registering to participate in elections. The party announced its intention to appeal the ruling.

“We do not plan to relinquish our political agency,” Civic Initiative stated on Telegram.

The party’s latest presidential candidate, Boris Nadezhdin, was disqualified from the 2024 election over purported issues with his endorsement signatures. His short-lived pro-peace campaign garnered significant support from Russians who oppose the war in Ukraine, despite a government crackdown on dissent during wartime.

Civic Initiative previously contended that the seven-year inactivity period cited by the Justice Ministry would not end until 2027. It cautioned that the party’s dissolution would hinder its candidates from competing in the upcoming regional elections.

Just the day before the Supreme Court’s ruling, Civic Initiative announced its plans to field candidates in local elections across six regions, including Leningrad and Kaliningrad. The impact of the court’s decision on these plans remains unclear.

Nadezhdin, who previously served as a municipal deputy in the Moscow region, had to resign from his local position and declared bankruptcy following his disqualification from the presidential race last year.