Russian journalist nearly beaten to death
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Moscow paramedics rushed 30-year-old Russian journalist Oleg Kashin to the hospital after finding him on the steps of his apartment building covered in blood.
Unknown assailants left Kashin with a shattered jaw, fractured skull, a broken leg and crushed fingers. It is speculated that Kashin's crushed fingers indicates a revenge assault for his writing.
It has been reported that Kashin is in serious but not life-threatening condition and had induced a coma to stabilize his injuries.
Kashin is a political reporter for Kommersant, one of Moscow's mainstream dailies, where his sharp writing for youth groups is what he is known for.
In August Molodaya Gvardiya, a youth wing of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, displayed his displeasure by publishing Kashin's photograph and captioning it as "will be punished."
The attack further shocked Russia's media and civil rights community who have suffered many similar attacks. Kashin's colleagues are discouraged that the crime will not be solved.
3 comments:
I think this is a scary story for all of us, not just because many of us are going into the field of journalism, but also because it shows us what people will do to keep others silent.
Oppression is alive and well. People are always trying to control others, and this crime is a good example of it. I am wondering what exactly he all wrote about that caused so much controversy.
It hard for me to even believe that someone could publish a picture with a caption that is an obvious threat. Thank you for blogging about this. It really does make you think.
I agree with Tara. Part of being a journalist is making some people mad, sometimes very very mad. This is a definite risk in being a journalist. There's always those who will go to great lengths to keep others "in line". I'm curious to what would have happened if that picture with the caption about punishing someone would have been published in an American newspaper.
I agree with both of you. It does make you realize that journalism is not a peachy and easy profession. People have to take risks and do what it takes to find their story.
It is just crazy what people can do to other people depending on their feelings toward the subject. And like Tara said to keep other silent on a certain topic.
Post a Comment