An attack on an associate of Alexei Navalny

On Wednesday, Leonid Volkov, one of the close associates and associates of Russia's prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was attacked in Vilnius, Lithuania. This incident took place almost a month after Navalny's mysterious death, and it was a new episode in a dramatic saga that has been going on for several years.

According to Kira Yarmysh, a former spokeswoman for Alexei Navalny, the attack took place near Volkov's house in the Lithuanian capital. An unknown assailant broke the glass in Volkov's car and then attacked him, spraying tear gas into his face and hitting him with a hammer. Volkov was taken to hospital with a broken arm and bodily injuries, and his condition is assessed as stable.

"We will work, we will not give up," Volkov, 43, said in a short video posted on Telegram on Wednesday, speaking with his arm bandaged. "It was a typical gangster greeting from Putin's henchmen." This seemed to be a reference both to Putin's gangster style and to his time as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in the 1990s, when the city was considered one of Russia's most criminal cities.

Alexei Navalny, a prominent Russian opposition leader, has been imprisoned since January 2021 on extremism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated. After his sudden and mysterious poisoning, he recovered in Germany and returned to Russia, where he was arrested. His death, which occurred under unclear circumstances, caused a great deal of outrage and indignation not only among his supporters but also in the international community.

This attack on Leonid Volkov, who has long been in exile from Russia under pressure from the authorities, raises serious questions about the safety of Navalny's associates and other opposition figures.

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, called the attack "shocking" and said that the perpetrators would be brought to justice for their actions. However, it is necessary not only to condemn such attacks, but also to act actively to protect the lives and safety of those who stand in the way of the authoritarian regime.