Sytkin, who heads the regional branch of Garry Kasparov’s United Civil Front party as well as the Solidarity democratic movement, showed the latest letter to reporters.  The paper contains a photograph of the activist under the sights of a sniper rifle, with written calculations of distance, angle, wind speed and light conditions.  The accompanying text warns Sytkin that he is constantly in the sights of a sniper rifle, which may go off is he continues to publish critical articles in the Kasparov.ru online newspaper.

Sytkin, who suspects that local authorities may be responsible for the threats, has appealed without success to the police.  On May 10th, he received a notice that his request for a criminal investigation had been denied.  The opposition leader has since appealed to regional prosecutors and the Russian Prosecutor-General’s office.

The Tambov branch of the Solidarity movement faced a number of problems when it tried to hold its founding conference earlier this year.  The building rented for the conference pulled out of its contract at the last minute.  Yelena Vasilyeva, a member of Solidarity’s federal council, was delayed by police as the tried to board a train departing Tambov.  An hour after the train left the city, Vasilyeva was attacked and beaten to the point that she required emergency care.

After the conference, Sytkin began receiving threats through the mail.  The letter’s authors told Sytkin they would burn down his apartment, blow up his office, or “simply throw a brick on your head off the roof, or stalk you in your courtyard and properly thrash you, like Lev Ponomarev.”

Pochta Rossii, the federal postal service, holds a local monopoly on delivering newspaper subscriptions, and many residents rely on it to deliver the news.

According to Aleksei Tolmachev, the Tambovsky Meridian’s editor-in-chief, small demonstrations of media workers took place around Russia in cities including Saratov, Smolensk, Vologda, Ivanovo, Orenburg, Kemerovo, and Veliky Novgorod from February 4th to the 8th.  Picketers called for an independent press and insisted that publications must be free to publish without fear of reprisal from authorities.

In Vladimir, north-east of Tambov, representatives of seven leading newspapers and electronic media gathered signatures for an open letter of support.

“The Union of Vladimir Oblast Journalists expresses solidarity with their friends from the Tambovsky Meridian newspaper,” the letter states.  “Today in Tambov, tomorrow in Vladimir?  Then everywhere?  We express our categorical protest, because journalists need to tell the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may seem to authorities.  And our readers and TV viewers have the right to know this truth.”

According to Tolmachev, further demonstrations would take place in 25 regions during the next several days.

In the north-western city of Pskov, one demonstrator carried a sign that summarized what the protestors stood for, and paraphrased a recent quote by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev:  “You don’t have to love the newspaper!  But it must be published and must criticize the government.”