Two female candidates faced persecution after the elections in Goryachy Klyuch.

Tatyana Pleshakova, a candidate for the Goryachy Klyuch City Council, who was forcibly ejected from a polling station on election day, has been charged with disobeying police, while her colleague, Valentina Shostak, has been charged with obstructing the work of the election commission.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) representatives reported violations during the September 12-14 elections in Goryachy Klyuch. According to their reports, observers and a candidate were forcibly ejected from one of the polling stations on September 13, while a commission member remained inside, despite the station being closed and sealed. It was also reported that at polling station 1007 in Goryachy Klyuch, a Communist Party observer was prohibited from recording the vote count.

On September 17, a court in Goryachy Klyuch began hearing an administrative case against city council candidate Tatyana Pleshakova. She was charged with disobeying police (Article 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) for refusing to leave the polling station after 8:00 PM Moscow time on election day. Pleshakova, who ran as an independent candidate, is being tried for refusing to comply with an illegal order from a police officer to leave the polling station that evening, according to Krasnodar City Duma deputy and gubernatorial candidate Alexander Safronov. He published a video recording taken at polling station 1039 on the evening of September 12. In the video, police officers demand that Pleshakova leave the polling station, warning her that they may use physical force against her and subject her to administrative liability. Pleshakova points out that representatives of the administration and the electoral commission remain at the station overnight, contrary to the law. Ultimately, security forces escorted Pleshakova out of the polling station, according to a video on Safronov's Telegram channel.

The commission refused to comply with the rules and seal the polling station, and when disgruntled local residents approached, the administration staff threw their jackets over their heads. "They threw their jackets over their heads because they don't want to admit they were at the polling station after closing. The police sided with them and protected them," the Telegram channel "Ostorogno, Novosti" quoted local residents as saying on September 13.

Many residents of Goryachy Klyuch came to court on September 17 to support Pleshakova. "The city is buzzing; people are outraged by how the elections went. We will file motions and call witnesses to the trial," Safronov wrote.

He later reported that there has been no decision on the case yet; the trial has been postponed until September 18. "The court will continue its consideration with the participation of the chairperson of the Goryacheklyuchevskaya Territorial Electoral Commission," he said. According to the politician, the police officers in court argued that their demand that Pleshakova leave the polling station was legal, even though the candidate has the right to be at the polling station while the commission is in session.

Another candidate for the Goryachy Klyuch City Council, Valentina Shostak, nominated by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, reported on September 17 that police officers accused her of obstructing the activities of the election commission.

"The Goryachy Klyuch police opened a case against me under Article 5.69 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for obstructing the activities of the election commission. They didn't like that I was filming the violations of the election commission. I think the trial will take place soon," Shostak wrote on her Telegram channel.

On September 12, Shostak reported that she was ejected from polling station 1038, where she had been recording violations. The commission at this polling station refused to accept her complaints about other violations, including the lack of a safe.

The regions of the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts in which elections were held in September can be found in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Unified Voting Day 2025 in Southern Russia." The "Caucasian Knot" is publishing materials about these elections on the page "Elections-2025: South of Russia".

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