London
The Russian presidential candidate who disappeared for five days last week now says he was kidnapped. Ivan Rybkin said he was lured to Kiev on false pretenses and drugged. While he was unconscious, his armed captors made what he called a “horribly perverted” videotape of him to be used for blackmail. Back in Moscow, Rybkin initially gave an innocent account of his absence, out of fear for his safety. He soon fled to London, where his main backer, business tycoon Boris Berezovsky, lives in exile. Rybkin, a critic of President Vladimir Putin, said he would continue campaigning, but most polls showed him with little support before his adventure and even less now.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How will Ford reinvent EV manufacturing to compete with China?Today's Big Question Henry Ford's assembly line system is being replaced
-
The latest entry in Ethan Coen's queer trilogy, a Jeff Buckley documentary and the rare children's horror flick in August moviesthe week recommends The month's film releases include 'Honey Don't!,' 'It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley' and 'Sketch'
-
Switzerland could experience unique economic problems from Trump's tariffsIn the Spotlight The current US tariff rate on Switzerland is among the highest in the world
