Altai region Governor Alexander Berdnikov has filed a defamation lawsuit against a local opposition journalist who accused him of alcoholism, seeking 500,000 rubles ($16,100) in damages, RIA-Novosti reported Monday.
Berdnikov promised to give the money to charity, the report said.
The journalist, Sergei Mikhailov, was earlier accused of libel and inciting ethnic hatred over publications in his Listok weekly. He denied the charges, calling them politically motivated.
(MT)