Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday barred the country’s only anti-war party, Yabloko, from contesting September’s parliamentary “elections”.

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The lawsuit was brought to the court by the Rodina party, a nationalist organization that supports Vladimir Putin.

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The ruling came after Nikolai Rybakov, Yabloko’s chairman, delivered a closing argument urging the court to dismiss Rodina’s lawsuit entirely.

Rybakov argued that Yabloko did not violate the law and would continue to defend its political position. The lawsuit itself, he said, reflected distrust of the state’s ability to hold competitive elections:

We work in Russia under difficult conditions because of our political position. However, we don’t hide that position. This is our vision of the country’s interests and its future. It’s essential for us to stay and work in Russia, to maintain ties with the people who live here and for whom we do our work. We will do everything we can to make Russia a prosperous, democratic state.

Rybakov also rejected claims that Yabloko paid for the pro-party videos circulating on social media:

We don’t pay anything to the young people who make videos in our support and who came to the Supreme Court today. They support us simply because they want to live in Russia and not be killed. I don’t know how to explain that to the plaintiffs.

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