Leonid Volkov (2017): “We will not give up”
Photo:
Alexander Zemlianichenko/ AP
Russian opposition figure Leonid Volkov, who was attacked in exile in Lithuania - a close confidant of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in Russian custody - appeared combative after the attack.
“We will work and we will not give up,” Volkov said in an online video earlier Wednesday morning.
He was the victim of a “typical” attack by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s henchmen.
"They literally wanted to make a schnitzel out of me."
A man attacked him with a hammer in the yard in front of the house and hit his leg 15 times.
»My leg somehow remained intact.
It hurts when walking but they say it's not a fracture but I broke my arm.
That's not a big deal.
The main thing is that we keep working and don't give up," said Volkov.
He described the attack as "an obvious, typical and characteristic gangster greeting from Putin from gangster Saint Petersburg" and called for people to take part in the "Lunch Against Putin" campaign during the so-called presidential election.
Volkov was one of Alexei Navalny's closest confidants and was responsible for his political campaigns.
He had to leave Russia several years ago after repression,
In order to take a stand against this election farce, shortly before his death, Navalny called from solitary confinement, beyond the Arctic Circle, to go to the polling stations on March 17th at 12 noon.
Other opposition representatives have joined the appeal.
They want to show that there is another Russia without Putin.
Vladimir Putin wants to be confirmed as president again this weekend.
There can be no question of an election, critical opposing candidates were not admitted, and the three politicians listed next to Putin on the ballot paper are all loyal to the Kremlin.
Volkov's wife Anna Biryukova wrote on X that she and her husband were at home, Volkov had a broken arm and couldn't walk yet.
"The decision to run to my husband who was being attacked or to leave my sleeping children alone is terrible and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
The Russian exile media Meduza writes that Volkov spoke to them in an interview a few hours before the attack about the threats facing Navalny's team.
»The biggest risk now is that we will all be killed.
“It’s quite obvious,” he said, according to Meduza.
He added that Navalny's team is currently reviewing security protocols.
He declined to give details.
til/heb/AFP