More than 80 young supporters of Russia’s antiwar Yabloko party were detained outside the Supreme Court as it upheld the party’s removal from the ballot. Five of them describe the day.

On August 17, Russia’s Supreme Court upheld its ruling barring the liberal Yabloko party from this year’s State Duma elections.

Just as on August 10, when the Supreme Court heard the suit against Yabloko at its Povarskaya Street building, large numbers of the party’s young supporters turned out for the appeal ruling.

Police detained more than 80 people.

Those who were 18 or older were released from police stations within a couple of hours; the rest had to wait for adult relatives to come get them.

The independent journalists’ cooperative Bereg spoke with young antiwar Russians who believed until the last moment that they’d be able to vote for the party campaigning under the slogan “For Peace.” Some of them were among those detained.

Meduza is translating this story in full.