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Russian Diplomats Attacked in Macedonia

The Kremlin is demanding an explanation from the government of Macedonia following an incident in Skopje, the capital. Four staff members of the Russian Embassy were leaving a caf? in Skopje on October 28 when an unknown assailant launched punches at one of the Russians for no overt reason. To add insult to injury, one of the caf??s own guards joined in on the assault by attacking some of the others in the group, and later reports indicated that witnesses saw anywhere from ten to twelve participants in the attack.

According to Russian media, Moscow has ?appealed to the Macedonian authorities?to investigate the incident in a most prompt and impartial way.? Macedonia is more formally known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Due to the number of attackers, the extent of the injuries was described by state media as being ?grave?. The Russians were given medical treatment at Skopje hospitals first, and were later reported to have returned to Russia for further treatment.

Anti-Russian sentiment in the Balkans might have been a motivation for the incident, though it has not really garnered all that much international attention outside of Russia. Even coverage in Macedonia has been relatively scant. Attacks on diplomats have certainly not received as much attention as the recent tensions between Moscow and neighboring Georgia, caused by the revelation that a spy ring allegedly run by the former had been discovered by the latter last month. Georgia, birthplace of the late dictator Josef Stalin, used to be part of the Soviet Union.