Russian activist Lyudmila Garifulina, defender of forests, in critical condition after stabbing

A Russian activist and lawmaker, who was opposed to a development that would destroy a forest outside Moscow, was in a critical condition on Friday after being stabbed multiple times outside her apartment building.

Lyudmila Garifulina, a municipal deputy in the town of Staraya Kupavna, about 12 miles east of Moscow, was stabbed four times with a knife on Wednesday night, the Agence France-Presse reported.

It was the second attack on Garifulina in recent months.

The 63-year-old’s Just Russia party said she was in a “grave condition after surgery,” the Associated Press reported.

According the Moscow Times, Garifulina has been campaigning for years against the clearing of local forests to make way for construction projects, including high-rise buildings and roads.

"She's a deputy with a capital 'D,' defending residents from lawless behavior by officials and the local administration. This is the price she paid for it," fellow activist Nina Romanova was quoted as saying.

Garifulina's latest efforts, for which she had received numerous threats, were focused on a local forest that was due to be cut down to build a new road, the AP said, citing an activist with the Environmental Defense of the Moscow Region group.

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