Police in Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya have reportedly surrounded a village as part of a search for a resident who posted a video on the Internet calling for help from Russian President Vladimir Putin against corrupt local officials.
Russia's Kommersant Daily quoted residents of the village of Kenkhi on May 16 as saying that regional armed police forces have surrounded their village since May 14 and were interrogating all residents to track down a villager named Ramazan Dzhalaldinov.
The 56-year-old Dzhalaldinov, an ethnic Avar, uploaded his video to the Internet on April 14.
In it, he urges Putin to personally intervene in Kenkhi and stop local government officials from extorting bribes from residents.
Dzhalaldinov said in a video posted on the website of the Chernovik newspaper on May 13 that masked arsonists torched his house in Kenkhi after his plea to Putin.
Dzhalaidinov also said he fled to the neighboring Russian region of Daghestan after receiving anonymous death threats.