Russian opposition politician Mikhail Kasyanov says he was attacked by a group of men who threw a cake at him while he dined in a Moscow restaurant on February 9.
Two men approached Kasyanov, a former prime minister under President Vladimir Putin and now a Kremlin critic, at around 9:30 p.m. and berated him for his political views before throwing the cake in his face, he told Russian media outlets.
Restaurant security intervened, but the assailants managed to flee the scene along with a large group of other men in four separate automobiles, the press service of Kasyanov’s opposition PARNAS party said.
Kasyanov, who was unharmed in the incident, told Kommersant that he had filed a police complaint due to what he considers "a threat to my life and security."
Several of Kasyanov's supporters said they believed the men were from Russia's restive Chechnya region.
The incident follows last week's Instagram post by the volatile head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, featuring video footage of Kasyanov and a fellow opposition activist framed through what appeared to be a sniper's crosshairs.
Kasyanov said he believes the incident in the restaurant was tied to his request that federal authorities investigate Kadyrov’s Instagram post.