ST. PETERSBURG -- An opposition activist in St. Petersburg who created several online opposition groups on the website contact.ru was forcibly placed in a psychiatric clinic, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.
Vadim Charushev is an outspoken online critic of the Kremlin's position on what is known in Ukrainian as the Holodomor -- the man-made famine in Ukraine in 1930s that led to millions of deaths. He also often criticizes Moscow policies in the Caucasus.
It has been reported that Charushev was forcibly brought to a psychiatric clinic on March 7, where a mobile court satisfied a request by medical personnel to place him in the clinic.
The leader of the United Civic Front opposition movement's branch in St. Petersburg, Olga Kurnosova, told RFE/RL that Charushev's current state of health in the clinic is very worrisome. She said he has lost a lot of weight and looks sick.