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Russian Journalist, Motorist Rights Activist Assaulted in St. Petersburg

Russian activist and journalist Alexander Kholodov.

Unidentified assailants have attacked and beaten the St. Petersburg activist and journalist Alexander Kholodov, his employer Fontanka news portal reported Tuesday.

Kholodov was hospitalized with a broken nose, concussion and bruises, the report said.

The journalist — who hosts the “Fontanka.Office” webcast and is also known as an activist for car drivers' rights — said two men attacked him when he was exiting an elevator in his apartment building in the early hours of Tuesday.

The attackers did not say anything while beating him, and did not steal anything, Kholodov said, Fontanka reported.

Kholodov — who chairs St. Petersburg's Committee for Motorist Rights and also serves as deputy chief of a public panel for advising the city's Interior Ministry branch — linked the attack with his activism, the report said.

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