Three against one: Federal investigators intervene in Moscow subway attack that has stoked ethnic tensions

Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia's Federal Investigative Committee, waded into an incident this week that is stoking ethnic tensions in Moscow. Bastrykin awarded the Valor and Courage medal to a 25-year-old man whom three assailants brutally attacked after he defended a woman they were harassing on the subway. "Despite being outnumbered, he did not stand aside. He stood up for the young woman. Without entering into a conflict, he made a remark for which this aggressive group of men beat him severely," Bastrykin said in an announcement. The attack on Roman Kovalev occurred on the evening of October 4 between Moscow's Izmailovskaya and Pervomayskaya subway stations. Video of three men stomping on Kovalev's head circulated widely on Russian social media, generating substantial controversy, particularly because the victim is an ethnic Russian man and the assailants are from the North Caucasian Republic of Dagestan. Original Article: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/10/07/three-against-one