Divided opposition rocked by Navalny ally attack claim

When Leonid Volkov, a longtime associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was brutally attacked with a hammer outside his home in Lithuania in March, it initially seemed yet another case of the Kremlin hunting down its enemies abroad.

- Pjotr Sauer and Shaun Walker

The assailant smashed open Volkov's car window and struck him repeatedly with a hammer, breaking his left arm and damaging his left leg. Western officials and opposition figures assumed the attack, which took place a few weeks after Navalny's mysterious death in prison, had been orchestrated by the Kremlin.

Last month, Navalny's team released an explosive investigation casting doubt on that version of events. In the video, Maria Pevchikh, the head of Navalny's investigation department, accused the wealthy businessman and outspoken Kremlin critic Leonid Nevzlin of hiring the men to beat up Volkov outside his home, claiming the attack was triggered by a personal dispute.

Nevzlin has denied any involvement in the attack. In a statement on X, he wrote: "I have nothing to do with any attacks on people, in any form whatsoever," adding that "justice will confirm the absurdity and complete baselessness of the accusations against me".

In their investigation, Navalny's team published screenshots they said showed conversations on the messaging app Signal between Nevzlin and an alleged associate, Anatoly Blinov, apparently discussing the attack on Volkov. They handed their dossier of evidence to authorities in Poland, where Blinov was arrested in September.

The allegations have caused shock and led to infighting among members of the exiled Russian opposition.