Leonid Volkov, a close ally of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was attacked outside his home in Vilnius on Tuesday, March 12, in an incident that caused an uproar in the Lithuanian government. Russian dissidents have denounced attacks, which they attribute directly to the Government of Vladimir Putin, and this Wednesday, March 13, they asked European governments to guarantee the security of the opposition in exile.
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Leonid Volkov, team leader of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who recently died in a Russian prison, reported this Wednesday, March 13, that he had been the victim of an attack with a hammer in front of his house in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, of which he accused directly to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Volkov vowed to continue his fight against Putin in a video posted on Telegram early Wednesday after being released from the hospital.
“We will work and we will not give up,” he said, detailing that the attack, which left him with a broken armwas “a criminal greeting, typical, characteristic of Putin, of criminal St. Petersburg.”
Volkov, 43, is one of Russia's most prominent opposition figures and was a close confidant of Navalny, with whom he worked as chief of staff and as president of his anti-corruption foundation until 2023.
In his post on Wednesday, Volkov said he was hit in the leg 15 times during the attack. “The leg is fine, it hurts to walk… However, they broke my arm,” Volkov said this Wednesday, March 13.
“They literally wanted to make me a schnitzel,” he added.
Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh previously said that “someone broke the car window and sprayed tear gas in his eyes” before hitting him with a hammer.
Volkov's wife, Anna Biryukova, shared photos of her husband's injuries on social media, including a black eye, a red mark on his forehead and blood on his leg, which had soaked through his jeans.
Lithuanian police spokesman Ramunas Matonis confirmed to AFP that a Russian citizen was attacked near his home in the capital, Vilnius, at around 10:00 p.m. local time (20:00 GMT).
The suspects have not been identified and more details about the assault are expected Wednesday, he said.
“Shocking” attack
The attack comes almost a month after Navalny's death in an Arctic prison, which Volkov blamed on Russian President Vladimir Putin, and days before the presidential election, in which Putin is expected to win a new term.
The day before he was attacked, Volkov wrote on social media:
“Putin killed Navalny. And many others before that.”
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis condemned the beating suffered by Volkov in a social media post.
“The news about Leonid's attack is shocking. The competent authorities are working. The perpetrators will have to answer for their crime,” he said on the social network X.
News about Leonid's assault are shocking. Relevant authorities are at work. Perpetrators will have to answer for their crimes.
— Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 (@GLandsbergis) March 12, 2024
NATO member Lithuania is home to many Russian exiles and has been a strong supporter of Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
Russian dissidents who have spoken out against the Kremlin often complain of being subjected to threats and attacks.
This Wednesday, former Russian deputy Guennadi Gudkov asked European governments to guarantee the security of the opposition in exile after the attack on Volkov.
“A hunt has been declared against the most prominent representatives of Russia in exile (…) A group must be created to guarantee the safety of these people,” he told EFE in a telephone conversation from Bulgaria.
Gudkov, who worked in security bodies before entering politics, denounced that the Federal Security Service (FSB) created a special department to “counteract” the influence of opponents abroad, figures that the Kremlin considers “enemies.” “.
Hours before he was beaten on Tuesday, Volkov told the independent Russian news outlet Meduza that he was concerned for his safety after Navalny's death.
“The key risk now is that they will kill us all. Wow, it's pretty obvious,” the outlet quoted him as saying.
Volkov went into exile in 2019 along with several other Navalny allies after authorities launched a criminal investigation into the leader's anti-corruption foundation.
Volkov was declared wanted by Russian authorities in 2021 for his role in promoting mass anti-Kremlin protests alongside Navalny.
With AFP and EFE
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