Today in Stavropol, pro-Kremlin hooligans tried to disrupt my meeting with voters, along with A.B. [Andrei] Zubov. At the entrance to the Center for Non-traditional Technologies, about 30-40 people attacked us, trying to cause physical harm. My security was able to defend us, but they managed to rip my shirt : ))After the completion of the three-hour meeting, the hooligans once again attacked us, throwing tomatoes and eggs not only at us but the police officers who accompanied us. They also shouted threats and swear words.I made an appeal to the police to open a criminal case under several articles of the Criminal Code.
"Naturally, they gave us a ticket, I don't remember, to Brussels or Washington. They said, "Leave," Zubov said.
His reference is to a large, cardboard mock-up of a ticket held by the assailants.
PARNAS tweeted videos of the incident:
Translation: NOD activists confront the PARNAS Stavropol candidates.
Translation: Around 40 NOD activists and Cossacks start a fight while M. Kasyanov leaves the hall.
Zubov said Kasyanov was hit and kicked several times, and his shirt was torn, but he was not injured.
Translation: Mikhail Kasyanov is alive and well, and already giving an interview to local journalists.
In April, when Kasyanov spoke in Togliatti, activists showed up with rakes and tried to hit him over the head. In Nizhny Novgorod in February, Kasyanov cancelled a meeting because of a series of attacks, including being hit with eggs in Vladimir.
The ruble is trading at 64.44 to the dollar and 72.01 to the euro. Brent crude is selling for $45.27 per barrel.
The following headlines were taken from RIA Novosti, Currenttime TV, Meduza, Kommersant and RBC.
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What We're Reading
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-- Catherine A. Fitzpatrick