Watchdog

Moscow investigators levied criminal charges against the man considered to be the godfather of Russia's blogosphere, accusing him of extremism for a post that called for "wiping Syria off the face of the Earth."

The charges against Anton Nosik -- announced on April 26 by the capital's branch of the national Investigative Committee -- were widely anticipated.

A prolific blogger whose writings are some of the most widely viewed on the Russian-language Internet, Nosik has not denied publishing the remark about Syria in October and making similar comments in a radio interview later.

But he said the case highlighted the "delusional and ridiculous" nature of extremism as defined in the Russian Criminal Code.

Nosik wrote the controversial post a day after Russian launched its air campaign in Syria to bolster the forces of longtime ally President Bashar al-Assad.

The post also likened the Assad regime to that of Nazi Germany.

The head of Russia's Parnas opposition party, Mikhail Kasyanov, says a leading member of his party has been kidnapped by three unknown men in Moscow.

Kasyanov wrote on Facebook on April 26 that the kidnapped party official, Mikhail Konev, was the head of the Parnas youth wing.

According to Kasyanov, Konev was forced into a car as he was leaving a military commission building in Moscow, where he had been summoned on April 26.

Kasyanov also posted a photograph of the kidnappers' car on Facebook. The license plate of the car was legible.

Kasyanov said his party is demanding an immediate investigation into Konev's disappearance and has called on authorities to secure the young man's immediate release.

The Parnas party, led by Kasyanov, a former Russian prime minister, openly positions itself as a Kremlin opponent.

The former co-chairman of Parnas, Russia's former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, was shot dead near the Kremlin on February 27, 2015.