Zaur Titov / Photo from http://www.lenta.ru

Southern Russian Official Attacked in Moscow

Created: 02.04.2006 13:19 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:05 MSK, 3 hours 35 minutes ago

MosNews

A senior culture official of the southern Russian province was savagely beaten in eastern Moscow on Saturday evening. Zaur Titov, Culture Minister of Kabardino-Balkaria, suffered injuries in the fight with a group of drunken youngsters, as he tried to protect children who had been leaving a local house of culture following a dancing training session, Russian NTV television reported Sunday.

The incident took place at about 20-00 on Saturday in eastern Moscow, Dzhamilya Khagarova, a spokesperson for Kabardino-Balkaria’s presidential administration told the ITAR-TASS news agency. “The young assailants, shouting: ’Russia — for Russians!’ severely beat up Tutov, a popular singer of Russian lyrical songs. The singer suffered a fracture of the jaw and concussion of the brain,” Khagarova said.

President of the Republic Arsen Kanokov has urged the Moscow police authority to carry out a thorough investigation into the incident, she added.

Zaur Titov was hospitalized with injuries, Itar-Tass reported. In comments for NTV television, his wife said the youngsters who had attacked her husband were shouting nationalist insults, such as “Russia for Russians”.

Moscow prosecutors have launched a probe but said they saw no ethnic enmity behind the attack, the Interfax news agency reported. “Nothing suggests thus far that the attack was motivated by ethnic enmity, but all leads will be checked,” an official with Moscow’s Eastern District Prosecutor’s Office told Interfax.

http://mosnews.com/news/2006/04/02/officialattacked.shtml