Russian prosecutors request 12 years in prison for Lev Shlosberg, deputy head of liberal Yabloko party

Russian prosecutors have requested that Lev Shlosberg, deputy chairman of the liberal Yabloko party, be sentenced to 12 years and one month in prison on charges of repeatedly “discrediting” the Russian army and spreading “false information” about the military, independent outlet Mediazona reports, citing its reporter in the courtroom.

The “false information” charge stems from a 2022 repost on social media. Shlosberg shared a cover of the British tabloid Daily Mirror showing a bloodied woman alongside Vladimir Putin, captioned “Her blood… his hands”. The image had first been posted by the independent radio station Ekho Moskvy. In court, Shlosberg pointed out that the law criminalising “false information” about the army did not yet exist at the time he made the post.

The “discrediting the army” case arose from a debate Shlosberg had with historian Yury Pivovarov on a YouTube show. A recording of the discussion was posted to the Russian social network Odnoklassniki in January 2025, and it was this repost that prosecutors used as the basis for the charge. Shlosberg has argued in court that he is effectively being prosecuted for his opponent’s words, since it was Pivovarov’s position he had been arguing against, though he did not specify which of the historian’s remarks triggered the case. During the debate, Shlosberg himself called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

Shlosberg was already under house arrest over the “discrediting the army” case when he was jailed in December 2025 over the “false information” charge. According to Yabloko, the new case was filed on 3 December — just five days before the six-month statutory limit on his house arrest was due to expire.

These were not the first prosecutions against Shlosberg. In November 2025, he was sentenced to 420 hours of compulsory labour for failing to comply with the reporting requirements of Russia’s “foreign agents” law.

Earlier this week, the Russian Supreme Court ruled to bar Yabloko from the country’s upcoming parliamentary race. The party’s appeal of the decision is being heard by the Supreme Court’s Appeals Panel on Monday. Dozens of Yabloko supporters were detained outside the court building ahead of the hearing.