The Supreme Court upheld the fine imposed on former parliamentary candidate Valentina Shostak.

Former candidate for the Goryachy Klyuch City Council, Valentina Shostak, called the verdict expected and announced she would continue her civic activism.

The Caucasian Knot reported that Shostak was fined 2,000 rubles for interfering with the work of the election commission in November 2025.

Yesterday, June 17, Valentina Shostak, former candidate for deputy of the Goryachy Klyuch Municipal Council, received by mail the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated June 3. Judge Sergei Kuzmichev dismissed the appeal against the ruling of the magistrate, the decision of the Goryachy Klyuchevsky City Court, and the ruling of the Fourth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction. The higher court found no grounds to overturn the fine imposed under Article 5.69 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for interference in the exercise of powers by the election commission.

According to the case materials, the incident occurred on September 12, 2025, at polling station No. 10-38 in Goryachy Klyuch. According to the official version, Shostak "interfered with the commission's work," "created interference for voters, provoked conflicts," and "filmed on a mobile phone without notice."

Valentina Shostak herself, according to her, tried to document violations at the polling station. However, commission members viewed her demand for transparency as "disruptive to the work." A report was quickly drawn up against her. Shostak's defense insisted that the restrictions on video recording established for observers and the media do not regulate the special procedure for candidates, but courts at all levels ignored this argument.

Shostak believes the verdict was expected. "I am now prohibited from directly participating in the elections; the system has done everything to paint me as a violator. But I will not leave Goryachy Klyuch. I will help others, advise people, and write complaints for them if asked. "I'm legally prepared to defend every honest vote from afar," the activist said.

A lawyer and electoral law expert, who did not wish to publish his name, called the Supreme Court's decision a dangerous marker. "Article 5.69 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses was originally intended as a tool to protect commissions from external force or administrative pressure. In practice, in Kuban, we are seeing its mirror application. The court ignored Shostak's status as a candidate. A candidate has the direct right to monitor the voting process. Calling recording the proceedings on a phone "interference" is absurd. However, the courts blindly side with the precinct commission chairs. "This decision de facto legalizes the ban on any independent recording of violations at polling stations in Kuban," noted a source with a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Shostak's persecution is unfolding against the backdrop of a brutal purge of the electoral field ahead of the upcoming election campaigns, according to a member of the electoral commission from Krasnodar Krai, who was also previously suspended from this position through judicial mechanisms.

"Under current conditions, when the same chairmen and loyal commission members from United Russia have been in place for 15-20 years, nothing can change. The electoral system in Krasnodar Krai, and in the country as a whole, will remain in the form it has existed for many years. With such total control over everyone who records violations in the scorched field of civic activism, the will of citizens is completely nullified," the source believes.