Police are looking into allegations that an opposition mayoral candidate in the Moscow region town of Voskresensk was beaten unconscious in broad daylight.
A Just Russia's Gennady Yegorov told police that an unidentified man approached him on the street and repeatedly struck him on the head Thursday afternoon.
Yegorov received a small scratch under his left eye, and his jacket and pants were sullied. Doctors at a local hospital diagnosed him with a concussion, police said Friday in a .
There's reason to believe that the attack was politically motivated because Yegorov is considered a "strong opposition contender," A Just Russia's Moscow region branch said in a .
Yegorov won a court ruling Wednesday against accusers who said his campaign materials violated copyright laws.
The decision allowed him to stay in the race in the town of 91,300 people 80 kilometers southeast of Moscow, Gazeta.ru reported.
He will face United Russia's Alexander Kvardakov in an Oct. 14 election.
