RUSSIA: The bludgeoning to death of an abbot in a monastery outside Moscow is the latest shock for Russians as they struggle to come to terms with a wave of violent crime.
Archimandrite German's body was found, bound and badly beaten, in his cell in Voznesenskaya Pustyn monastery on Tuesday. His death comes with violent crime, assassinations, and organised attacks on tourists up by almost one-third in some Russian cities.
This week, thieves also broke into the apartment of the head of Moscow's main English language school and beat him to death.
The abbot's killing also follows news that British ambassador Tony Brenton and his wife were robbed at knife-point while strolling on St Petersburg's main boulevard, Nevski Prospect.
The attacks have helped push St Peterburg's violent crime statistics up 28 per cent this year, and the city has reacquired the violent reputation that, during the 1990s, saw it nicknamed Russia's crime capital.
"They choose foreigners, surround them, then start taking wallets, bags, everything," said one diplomat. "Sometimes these gangs consist of women and children, you cannot fight them."
Meanwhile, Moscow is grappling with a series of Al Capone-style robberies. Last Sunday, a security van was robbed by gunmen who rammed it with an SUV, smashing open the doors.
Two weeks ago, another security van with €1 million in rubles was sprayed with automatic fire, killing the driver and bringing to four the number of Moscow security vans hit in two months.
Assassinations are on the rise, with even the "untouchables" targeted.
Last week saw the former head of the Moscow KGB and his wife killed in a drive-by shooting.
Russians are at a loss to explain this carnage: one theory is that these gangs come from poverty-riddled republics bordering Russia. With the police unable to stem the tide, vigilantism is up.
One businessman, upset about his Audi being "keyed", rounded up his friends and held the population of the little village of Mali Vishery at gunpoint.
Villagers near Nizny Novgorod caught a group of burglars, threw them in a home-made cage and kept them there, dishing out regular beatings.