Support The Moscow Times!

Gang Attacks Navalny Campaign's Landlord in Siberia

Spitzgogo_CHEN / Flickr

An armed gang has violently beaten a man in Siberia after his family rented office space to the presidential campaign of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The victim, the son of the campaign's landlord in the city of Irkutsk, had been discussing repair work with the men before they began to beat him with baseball bats.

The landlord's son was taken to hospital, where he is being treated with stitches, according to Sergei Bespalov, the coordinator of Navalny's Irkutsk headquarters.

Bespalov said that Navalny's campaign had lost its former headquarters in the city after “bandits” confronted the landlord.

“They threatened that landlord,” Bespalov told the Meduza news site. “But apparently this time they decided not to talk, but just to attack.”

Navalny's campaign has repeatedly faced challenges opening offices in Russia's regions. Over the past month, it has had to delay opening offices in Moscow and several other cities after landlords backed out of lease agreements at the last minute.

The campaign has also faced violence: In April, an assailant hurled a mix of green antiseptic and a noxious chemical in Navalny's face, causing the politician to lose nearly 80 percent of his vision in his right eye.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more