The unidentified Russian national, described by police as mentally unstable, was hospitalized for observation, said an officer at the Presnya police district, where the embassy is located.
The heavily guarded embassy compound, which faces the busy Garden Ring road, has been attacked in the past. In January 2000, a man identified as a Russian soldier was shot and wounded on the grounds of the compound after breaking in and apparently trying to steal a car. In 1999, gunmen armed with grenade-launchers and an assault rifle sprayed gunfire at the main building before being forced to flee by police firing pistols. The attack was believed to be connected to protests against NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia.
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