Russian journalist beaten in Moscow

You might see a story going around today about another journalist who has been beaten in Moscow. Someone came up to journalist Sergei Topol from behind on Wednesday morning and hit him over the head with an object, reports Gazeta.ru. He lost consciousness. The incident happened near his home in central Moscow.

Russia remains one of the most dangerous countries for journalists (according to CPJ, it ranks eighth after places like Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan). But before anyone goes too crazy, let’s remember that journalists are people too and people, especially in Russia, have fights with their neighbors. Violent fights. Topol says that he thinks that’s what happened to him on Wednesday. Apparently he and his neighbor had been squabbling about renovations (his neighbor wanted to put in a private elevator and boilerroom) and damaged Topol’s ceiling in the process). Topol had used his connections in the press to complain about the incident, Gazeta.ru says. And his neighbor, somehow, whacked him on the head. So says Topol, anyway.

The incident is getting lots of coverage in Moscow because Topol’s byline is well known. He was the author of the scandalous 2008 story exposing Putin’s alleged affair with Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva. The story said Putin had walked out on his wife and was set to wed the young athlete. The newspaper, owned by oligarch Alexander Lebedev (who also owns England’s Independent and Evening Standard newspapers, as well as a partial stake in opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta) was shut shortly afterwards.

Putin was visibly angry at the story, answer a question from a journalist during a visit to Italy shortly after it was published by saying: “There is not one word of truth in what you have said. I have always reacted negatively to those who, with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies, prowl into others' lives.”

Topol also wrote a book about the early days of the Chechen war, when chief rebel Shamil Basayev took the town of Budennovsk hostage. He used to be a reporter for Kommersant, Russia’s best political daily.

Also Wednesday, Oleg Kashin, the Kommersant journalist who was brutally beaten in November, said on his blog that he had “no doubt” that Vassily Yakemenko, the founder of Kremlin youth group Nashi, was behind his beating.

“I have no doubt in the 'Yakemensky' version, and I have no other versions,” Kashin wrote.