The visit of security forces after the removal from the elections raised Atamanchuk's concerns.

The visit of security forces to the private plot in Sochi of the candidate from the "Yabloko" party, Vladimir Atamanchuk, who was removed from the elections, raised his concerns. He suggested that they planned to detain him. The Krasnodar Regional Court did not consider the appeal against the candidate's removal, but despite this, his name was crossed out from the ballots.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 11, the Krasnodar Regional Court canceled the registration of Vladimir Atamanchuk as a candidate for the State Duma from the South single-member district No. 54. The basis was an election material that the plaintiff considered extremist.

Legal status and appeal

On September 12, Vladimir Atamanchuk received the decision of the Krasnodar Regional Court dated September 11, 2026 (case No. 3a-1735/2026, judge Moiseeva O.M.) on the cancellation of his registration. According to the law, the candidate is given a five-day period for appeal, during which the decision does not come into force, and he remains an active candidate.

On September 17, the last day of the allotted period, Atamanchuk sent an appeal to the Third Court of General Jurisdiction through the Krasnodar Regional Court (the copy of the complaint dated 15.09.2026 is available to "Caucasian Knot"). The candidate still knows nothing about the fate of the appeal's consideration.

According to the text of the complaint, Atamanchuk points out key violations. Among them is the absence of a judicial linguistic examination: The court recognized the election leaflet as "extremist" without conducting a procedural judicial linguistic or comprehensive psychological-linguistic examination (Article 77 of the Administrative Procedure Code of the Russian Federation). The court effectively took on the functions of an expert. The study attached by the prosecutor on September 11 was conducted by the police on September 10 as part of an external administrative case.

He also pointed out in the complaint the violation of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. According to the ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 1053-O, a direct intention to incite hatred or enmity is a mandatory feature of extremism. Calls for peaceful resolution ("for the immediate conclusion of a ceasefire agreement") in Atamanchuk's leaflet, which are the programmatic goals of the "Yabloko" party, do not contain calls for violent change of the regime.

Atamanchuk noted in the complaint the use of unappealed protocols. At the time of the court's decision, the administrative material in the Department of Internal Affairs of Sochi under Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation had not been considered, and there were no effective acts of violation. He also added that the wording in Andrey Titov's claim and the police documents match down to the commas.

Haste of commissions and spoiled ballots

According to independent observers who worked in the TIK "Lazarevskoye", in particular, Nikolai and Valentina, the chairperson of the TIK ordered to cross out Atamanchuk from the ballots even before the court's decision came into legal force and even before its formal acceptance. According to legal norms, the candidate retains his status until the appeal is considered.

Due to haste, members of the precinct election commissions and TIK "Lazarevskoye" made a mistake: in part of the ballots produced, along with Atamanchuk, they mistakenly crossed out the candidacy of the representative of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Zhironkin. The exact number of spoiled ballots in this way is unknown (samples of ballots with both Zhironkin and Atamanchuk crossed out are available to "Caucasian Knot").

Invasion of private territory and forced isolation

On September 20, Vladimir Atamanchuk told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" that he was deprived of the opportunity to be present at the polling stations, to observe, or to vote independently, as he was forced to hide. Neighbors informed him that in his absence, police officers came to his house asking about his whereabouts.

Upon returning from Krasnodar on September 14, the candidate discovered that the gate to his plot was broken, and there were signs of the presence of outsiders on the territory.

In fact, I am an active candidate, but, as observers report, crossed out from the ballots.

"If it was the police, as the neighbors say, then by what right were they wandering around my plot? And if it was someone else, then I consider this a threat to my life," Atamanchuk noted, specifying that after sending a telegram requesting to set a new date for his appearance, he had not received any official notifications from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"I believe that a hunt has been declared on me. I am forced to hide," Atamanchuk indicated, noting that "there has been no response or greeting from the court regarding the complaint I submitted on September 17." "In fact, I am an active candidate, but, as observers report, crossed out from the ballots," he added.

According to him, the police conducted a linguistic examination on September 10 for another administrative case, which the prosecutor suddenly pulled out during the trial on September 11, and the court attached it to the case under consideration.

"The chronology is as follows: on September 9, Titov files a lawsuit against me. On September 10, I am detained by the police, on the same day they conduct the examination. On 11.09.2026, the court already makes a decision! In the police documents and Titov's statement, the matches are down to the commas," Atamanchuk emphasized.

According to him, he will not be able to participate in the voting even on the last day, as he fears that he may be detained on a fabricated case.

"I do not believe in these elections. The only thing we can do is to publicize our situations so that the world knows what kind of elections are taking place in the Russian Federation," Atamanchuk said on the morning of September 20, suggesting that he might be detained. At the time of writing this text, he had not been in contact anymore.

Expert and voter opinions

Election law expert Elena Didenko confirms legal violations.

"According to the law, the candidate is active, and his candidacy should be on the ballot until the decision comes into legal force. We have not seen the decisions on Atamanchuk's appeal, but we see that he has been crossed out from the voting ballot," she indicated.

Ordinary Sochi residents also record contradictions. Voter Irina told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" that on September 19, in a news story about the installation of ramps at 244 precinct election commissions in Sochi, an official poster appeared where Vladimir Atamanchuk was listed as an active candidate.

"I was glad that he was not removed, as such information had circulated. I ran to my polling station today to vote for him. I was given a ballot, and he was crossed out there. Then I went into the booth and demonstratively put a checkmark against his crossed-out name. Let my vote mean nothing, but let them know that people want to vote for peace and freedom," Irina stated.

Let us remind you that the main voting in the elections for the deputies of the State Duma takes place on September 18, 19, and 20. Early voting has been organized in 13 municipalities of Kuban and in the federal territory of Sirius: depending on the territory, it took place from September 14 to 17, so in part of Kuban, voting lasts up to seven days.

A total of 67 electoral campaigns are taking place in Kuban, including elections for deputies of municipal representative bodies and heads of rural settlements. "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a reference "Electoral campaign in the North Caucasus Federal District and Southern Federal District in 2026".

Materials about this campaign have been collected by "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Elections-2026: where will the protest go?".