Putin media critic stabbed in neck

A radio anchor and critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin was stabbed in the neck after an intruder forced his way into the radio station she works at in Moscow, according to a Monday Reuters report.

The victim, Tatyana Felgengauer, was taken to the hospital and placed in a medically-induced coma, but the wound is not life-threatening, the station said.

{mosads}The intruder was detained by station security staff. He reportedly sprayed gas into a security guard’s face to gain access to the building. It is not known what the motivation was behind the attack. 

Felgengauer works for Ekho Moskvy, a station with ties to Russia’s state-owned Gazprom but which allows views and commentary critical of Putin and the Kremlin to be broadcast. 

The stabbing comes just months after another anchor at the station, Yulia Latynina, said she was forced to leave Russia after being attacked on several occasions, including one instance when the car she owned was set on fire.  

“From our standpoint, it would be illogical and wrong to color this tragic incident, which actually was a manifestation of madness, with a political tint,” Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS, the official state-run Russian news agency, on Tuesday. 

Investigators identified the attacker as Boris Grits, who holds Russian and Israeli passports.