Anton Yegovtsev, the deputy chairman of the Russian ultranationalist Zov Naroda movement, was stabbed to death overnight in Moscow, the group announced on its Telegram channel on Friday.
Zov Naroda chairman Sergey Zaytsev told Russian news channel REN-TV that Yegovtsev had been killed by a man who had been obsessed with his wife, and who had been stalking and threatening to kill Yegovstev for some time.
According to Zaytsev, the attack took place in the staircase of Yegovtsev’s building, where the perpetrator had laid in wait for him, turning off the lights when he emerged from his apartment, lunging at him with a knife and killing him.
Breaking news channel 112 reported on Friday that Yegovtsev’s alleged attacker was himself in hospital recovering from injuries inflicted on him by Yegovtsev as he attempted to fight back.
Members of the Zov Naroda — Russian for “Call of the People” — are notorious for their regular denunciations of other Russians. Alisa Gorshenina, a Russian artist from the Urals, said that an event she had been due to appear at was cancelled by the authorities after she was denounced by Zov Naroda earlier this month. “I object to the fact that some citizens have more rights than others just because they are loyal to the current regime,” she added.
Zov Naroda also denounced Belarusian rock group Bi-2 in November, accusing them of treason and sponsoring terrorism after they spoke out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.