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Sergei Udaltsov

Igor Starkov

Rus­sian invest­ig­at­ors have launched a crim­inal case against a lead­ing oppos­i­tion fig­ure, prompt­ing wide­spread fears that the Kremlin’s crack­down on dis­sent has entered a new phase aimed at the movement’s leadership.

Sergei Udalt­sov, a 35-year-old rad­ical leftwinger who has helped spear­head the mass protests that have rocked Moscow since late last year, is being invest­ig­ated for pro­vok­ing mass unrest around Rus­sia, said Russia’s invest­ig­at­ive com­mit­tee. Udal­stov is also being invest­ig­ated for allegedly organ­ising ter­ror­ist attacks, it said. On Wed­nrsday, 17 Octo­ber he was arres­ted in dawn raid.