Russia’s Civic Initiative party said Thursday that authorities are seeking to dissolve it over “inactivity,” a year after the center-right party nominated the only anti-war candidate in the country’s presidential 2024 race.
The Justice Ministry has petitioned the Supreme Court to disband Civic Initiative due to its lack of participation in elections over the past seven years, according to a statement on the party’s Telegram channel.
Founded in 2013 with a liberal-democratic platform, Civic Initiative called the move “arbitrary” and “purely political.”
“Our party’s candidates are denied registration, and then it’s blamed for not participating in elections,” the statement said.
Civic Initiative’s most recent nominee, Boris Nadezhdin, was disqualified from the 2024 presidential race over alleged irregularities in his endorsement signatures. His brief pro-peace campaign gained notable support from Russians opposed to the war in Ukraine, despite a harsh wartime crackdown on dissent.
Since the disqualification, Nadezhdin has resigned as a municipal deputy in the Moscow region and declared bankruptcy.
In its statement, the party 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.
“Regardless of the legal rulings, we’ll continue our fight for freedom, democracy, human rights, social justice, a free market economy and a peaceful foreign policy,” the party said.
It was not immediately clear when the Supreme Court would consider the Justice Ministry’s petition.
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