Against the Odds: Russia's Yabloko Party Runs 98 Candidates Despite Slim Prospects

In a country where opposing the war in Ukraine can cost a person their freedom, their livelihood, or their place in society, a small liberal party called Yabloko has chosen to field ninety-eight candidates in this weekend's Russian parliamentary elections. Their chances of winning are slim, but the act of running is itself the point — a quiet insistence that dissent has not been entirely extinguished. For the Russians who share these views but cannot speak them aloud, a ballot cast for Yabloko may be the only form of resistance still available to them.