Leonid Volkov, a Russian opponent in exile and close to Alexeï Navalny, was the victim of an attack on Tuesday March 12 outside his home in Lithuania, said a Russian opposition media and Kira Yarmysh, the former spokesperson for Mr. Navalny, who died in custody in Russia on February 16. He was hospitalized.
“Leonid Volkov has just been attacked outside his house. Someone broke a car window and sprayed tear gas in his eyes before starting to hit Leonid with a hammer.”said Kira Yarmysh, on X.
Relatives of Alexei Navalny released photos showing Mr. Volkov’s injuries, including a black eye, a red mark on his forehead and blood on one of his legs.
They announced that he had been hospitalized, posting a photo of him being carried on a stretcher in front of an ambulance. Kira Yarmysh gave no details on the country where Mr. Volkov resides, but the independent Russian media Media zone assures that he is in Lithuania.
No suspect has been identified and more details on this attack should be communicated on Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for the Lithuanian police, Ramunas Matonis, told Agence France-Presse. Police confirmed the victim was hospitalized.
“Putin killed Navalny. And many other people before that”
Aged 43, Leonid Volkov is one of the main figures of the Russian opposition and was one of the lieutenants of Alexei Navalny, who died on February 16 at the age of 47 in a penal colony in the Arctic where he was serving a nineteen-year prison sentence for “extremism”.
“Putin killed Navalny. And many other people before that”, Leonid Volkov, who was the opponent’s former chief of staff, wrote on social networks on Monday. He also chaired the anti-corruption foundation founded by Mr. Navalny until 2023.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis condemned attack “shocking” and assured, in a message on “answer for their crimes”. A NATO member country, Lithuania hosts many Russians in exile and has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.
Russian dissidents who have spoken out against the Kremlin often complain of being the target of threats and attacks. A few hours before his attack on Tuesday, Leonid Volkov had confided to the independent Russian-speaking media Meduza being worried about his safety since the death of Alexeï Navalny. “The main risk now is that we will all be killed. Why, it’s a pretty obvious thing”he said according to Meduza.
Wanted by Moscow
Leonid Volkov went into exile in 2019 like other allies of Alexei Navalny after the Russian authorities opened a criminal investigation targeting the opponent’s anti-corruption foundation. The multiple trials brought against Mr. Navalny had been widely denounced as a way of punishing him for his opposition to the Russian president. Since 2021, Moscow has been searching for Leonid Volkov for his role in organizing, jointly with Mr. Navalny, protests against Russian power.
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After the death of Vladimir Putin’s number one opponent, about which around forty countries including the United States and those of the European Union requested an international investigation, Leonid Volkov promised that the team of Russian opponent “wouldn’t give up” because “good always triumphs over evil”. He called on Alexeï Navalny’s supporters to ” do not be discouraged “. “That’s what he expects of us now. What he has dedicated his life to must win. »
This attack comes a few days before the presidential election in Russia which should mark a new triumph for Vladimir Putin, due to a lack of real opponents.