Yet another Russian journalist has died in mysterious circumstances. Yaroslav Yaroshenko, the editor-in-chief of the monthly Korruptsiya i Prestupnost (Corruption and Crime), has succumbed to head injuries suffered in an attack two months ago on the staircase of his apartment block in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.

Early in the morning on April 30, the 63-year-old was taken to hospital with a traumatic brain injury and remained in a coma for several days. After a month in the hospital and several operations, Yaroshenko felt better and was allowed to go home. But his condition suddenly worsened and he was admitted yesterday to an intensive care unit, dying soon afterwards.

Yaroshenko's deputy, Sergey Sleptsov, believes the attack was related to the newspaper's work. In the weeks before the incident, the paper had published a number of articles on alleged corruption in the Rostov regional government, police, and the prosecutor's office.

Russia's Union of Journalists is to conduct its own investigation into the attack, which is the latest in a series of similar crimes against Russian journalists and human rights activists.

Russia is the third deadliest country in the world for journalists and the ninth worst in solving reporters' killings, according to CPJ research.

Sources: Russia Today/CPJ