Russian journalist Oleg Kashin, who was brutally attacked on November 6, was removed from a respirator after his condition improved, a hospital source said on Monday.
Kashin, who works for the respected Kommersant daily, was severely beaten by unidentified assailants near his house in Moscow. He suffered severe head and leg injuries and was put into an induced coma.
"He was removed from a respirator, and his condition is getting better," the source said, adding that he would remain in intensive care.
It is widely assumed that Kashin was targeted in revenge for his writing on sensitive social issues, including plans to build a road from Moscow to St. Petersburg through a centuries-old Khimki forest. The project was put on hold by President Dmitry Medvedev in the summer.
Another campaigner against the road, Konstantin Fetisov, was attacked in Khimki days before Kashin's beating.
Two years ago, Mikhail Beketov, a local newspaper editor, was nearly killed outside his home in Khimki for speaking out against the road. The style of attack was much similar to that on Kashin.
MOSCOW, November 15 (RIA Novosti)
