Leonid Volkov, a close confidante of Alexei Navalny, who died in a prison camp last month, was assaulted outside his home in Lithuania on Tuesday.

ERR's Anton Aleksejev spoke to Arkadi Babtšenko (pictured), considered by Russia to be a "foreign agent," "terrorist" and "extremist," and who was granted asylum in Estonia a few years ago.

At present Babtšenko is involved in aiding Ukraine and is concerned about his and his family's safety.

"In particular, I started to become fearful about a month-and-a-half ago, when our NGO, SAB UA, got an email containing threats directed at my daughter. They threatened to kidnap, rape, and kill her. That was the first communication, then a second one followed," Babtšenko continued.

The incident pre-dated the attack on Volkov, and its handling also brings into sharp relief the realities of how things are done in a democracy governed under the rule of law, with those of a brutal, arbitrary totalitarian regime which brooks no opposition.

As a Russian citizen, Babtšenko is barred from owning a weapons permit for self-defense purposes.

On this, he said: "Even if the Estonian state thinks that this is a minor issue not worth looking into, I would like to have the option of defending myself. I understand how many Putin agents and supporters of Russia's aggression are here, so this step would be justified, and I wish there were some exceptions to this rule."

Deputy Undersecretary for Internal Security at the Ministry of the Interior Joosep Kaasik told ERR there is no cause for concern in Estonia. "If we are talking about the recent attack in Lithuania, then naturally, the goal of the big neighbor is to scare people. [But] that can happen anywhere."

"In Estonia, there is no reason for concern. We are here," he continued.

"Should members of the public have doubts or concerns about their safety, they should always approach the Police and Border Guard Board, who will always help find the best solutions for their protection."

Babtšenko did just that, contacting the "web police officer" (Veebipolitseinik). "They answered that this was not within their jurisdiction and suggested contacting the PPA itself. That's what I did, and I got an official response saying that initiating a criminal procedure would infringe human rights, so therefore none were initiated."

The PPA's own reasoning for not initiating a criminal procedure in Babtšenko's case is: "...There must have been a basis to fear the actual execution of the threat. In this case, the reporter has not specified any circumstances or facts which would give reason to believe in the credibility of the threats being carried out."

Kaasik at the interior ministry says he believes that the PPA will, however, revisit this case again in light of what happened in Lithuania with Volkov.

"If he received a response that he is not satisfied with, then he definitely has the option of resubmitting the concerns, and providing additional explanations. I believe in any case that the PPA will review this case, especially in light of what has happened in Lithuania."

Lower-key menacing of, for instance, Russian citizens who are not classed as dissidents has been reported in Estonia, too. A source told ERR News their spouse had been pursued by the Russian Foreign Ministry over their reasons for leaving, even once residing on Estonian territory.

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