What happened during the week from August 3 to August 9. The main thing

The Rodina party has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of Russia demanding that Yabloko be removed from the State Duma elections. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that establishes the legal basis for the circulation of cryptocurrencies in the country. The Russian Ministry of Defense has undergone personnel changes. All the details and other main events of the week are in the Izvestia digest.

A lawsuit to remove Yabloko from the State Duma elections

On July 7, the Rodina party filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of Russia demanding that the Yabloko party be removed from the State Duma elections. As explained by the leader of the political formation, Alexei Zhuravlev, this decision is related to data on alleged violations, including the financing of Yabloko from Western sources, as well as violations of the law on elections and advertising, which his faction discovered. The Supreme Court of Russia, in turn, replied that they would consider the claim on August 10 at 10:00 Moscow time. The leader of the New People party, Alexei Nechaev, in turn, commented on the statement of claim for the removal of the Yabloko party from the State Duma elections and urged them to wait for the court decision.

The day before, Communist Party Chairman Gennady Zyuganov said that Yabloko does not support the policy of strengthening statehood in the context of a military conflict. Sergei Mironov, the head of A Just Russia, joined the criticism, calling Yabloko a party of traitors, and Leonid Slutsky, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, added that Yabloko's proposals to make peace with Ukraine were an attempt to repeat the scenario of the Brest Peace of 1918.

Personnel changes in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

On August 5, Putin held a meeting with the leadership of the country's Defense Ministry, at which he announced that Colonel-General Valery Solodchuk would become the head of all the department's rear services, and Colonel-General Andrei Ivanaev, who had previously headed the Vostok group of forces, would replace him as commander of the Center group of forces. In addition, the head of state appointed Denis Lyamin, Chief of Staff of the Center group of Forces, Commander of the Unmanned Systems of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Pyotr Bolgaryov will become the commander of the Vostok group of forces instead of Ivanaev. Prior to his appointment, Bolgaryov was the chief of staff of this group. The Russian leader stressed that the improvement of the Russian Ministry of Defense continues. At the same time, the ministry explained that the changes made are designed to improve the army's logistics and military technical support systems.

Preparations for the State Duma elections

Preparations for the September elections to the lower house of the Russian parliament are continuing in Russia. So, on August 5, the president held a meeting with the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, and noted that preparations for the State Duma elections were in full swing, with 2.2 thousand campaigns taking place on a single voting day. Pamfilova, in turn, said that the drawing of lots for the placement of Russian political parties on the ballot for the September State Duma elections was transparent. In addition, she touched upon security issues, stressing that the CEC is taking unprecedented measures to ensure security in the 2026 elections. The Head of State added that those who seek to participate in the elections go through this procedure, ignoring threats, and those who do not want to are looking for excuses. Sergei Perminov, a member of the General council of United Russia, said a day earlier that the party plans to train almost 200,000 observers to work at the State Duma elections.

Russia's special operation in Ukraine

The Russian army continued to conduct a special operation in Ukraine. From August 1-7, the Russian Armed Forces carried out two massive and 12 group strikes against military targets in Ukraine, and air defense systems eliminated 6.5 thousand Ukrainian drones. In addition, the liberation of settlements in the SVR zone continued. Russian troops liberated Bely Kolodez and Ustinovka, Baksheevka, Aniskino in the Kharkiv region, Ryzhevka in the Sumy region and Zarnitsa in the Zaporizhia region, Krasnoyarsk, Vasyutinskoye and Toretskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic. At the same time, the Russian army continued to strike ships with cargo for the Ukrainian army in the Black Sea and warehouses with fuel and lubricants in the ports of Odessa and Nikolaev.

The law on the legal basis of the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia

On August 4, Putin signed a law that establishes the legal basis for the circulation of cryptocurrencies in the country. Thus, the document regulates relations in the field of organization of circulation, accounting and storage of digital currencies and foreign digital instruments, mining, issuance and circulation of digital rights, and also establishes requirements for information system operators issuing digital financial assets. In addition, the head of state signed laws on the introduction of time restrictions for citizens abroad who evade criminal or administrative punishment.

The President also expanded the list of administrative offenses for which foreign citizens can be expelled from the country: discrimination based on gender, race, nationality, language, attitude to religion and other grounds. Another important signed document was the law simplifying the registration of cars in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. At the same time, the Russian leader allowed contracts with municipal employees over the age of 70 to be extended in Donbass and Novorossiya until January 1, 2028.

Ukrainian Armed Forces strikes on Gelendzhik and Belgorod

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) continued to strike at civilian infrastructure in Russia. On August 3, Ukrainian formations attacked one of the beaches in Arkhipo-Osipovka near the resort town of Gelendzhik. According to the latest information, seven people were killed, including four children. 58 more people were injured. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that NATO and the European Union, which are actively sponsoring Ukraine, have themselves become part of an international terrorist network. Meanwhile, a spontaneous memorial in memory of the victims appeared in Krasnodar. A Russian named Evgeny Finaev, in turn, told how, together with his brother Bogdan Bychkov, he helped save people.

Later, on August 9, the Ukrainian army attacked Belgorod. At the moment, five people are known to have died. Another 25 people were injured, including two children. 12 adults remain in hospitals, one of whom is in extremely serious condition. Another boy continues to be treated at the regional children's hospital. The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case under the article on the terrorist attack.