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.
