NGO coordinator hospitalized in critical condition, poisoning suspected

Television journalist and opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza was hospitalized yesterday after collapsing suddenly. The 34-year-old nearly slipped into coma, and his condition is critical. Doctors have reportedly noted signs that he was poisoned, but they’ve yet to reach a final diagnosis, according to Vadim Prokhorov, a member of Kara-Murza’s political party.

In addition to being a leading member of the opposition party RPR-PARNAS, Kara-Murza works as the coordinator of Open Russia, a Russian civic group founded by former political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Earlier this week, on May 25, Open Russia released a controversial documentary film purporting to expose corruption and human rights abuses by the Chechen government. The ruler of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, responded with a bizarre video clip depicting him firing an automatic weapon threateningly into the air. Political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky speculated that the stunt was a veiled threat against Open Russia, in response to its documentary film. Kadyrov has in the past called Khodorkovsky his “personal enemy” and threatened to come after him.

Kara-Murza’s father has said he thinks accusations of poisoning are still premature. According to the newspaper Kommersant, he says his son might have had an allergic reaction to something he ate, or perhaps succumbed to the stress of “irregular meals and not enough sleep.”

Correction: an earlier version of this text reported incorrectly that Kara-Murza had slipped into a coma. In fact, doctors were able to prevent this.