An expert on Russian extremist and neo-Nazi groups was attacked this week in St. Petersburg. Valentina Uzunova was assaulted outside the home of a murdered colleague, Vladimir Girenko, the Russian Web site Fontakna.ru reported. Girenko was murdered three years ago as he was preparing to testify against the violent neo-Nazi group Schultz88. Shortly after leaving the Gireko s home, a young woman reportedly approached Uzunova and demanded that she turn over documents she was carrying. When she refused, the woman physically attacked her, stealing the documents and Uzunova s earrings, but leaving her purse. Uzunova is stable and recovering in a local hospital. Uzunova, a member of the group For a Russia Without Racism, was scheduled to testify the following day against Vladislav Nikolsky, a publisher of xenophobic literature, and was involved in another trial as an expert witness. The police are not investigating the case as a hate crime.
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