Nikolai Glushkov, 68, had said that he was being persecuted by the Kremlin

A dissident was found strangled on the day that he was due in court to fight a $99 million compensation claim by a Russian state-controlled airline, the High Court disclosed yesterday.

A judge ordered Aeroflot to pay the full costs, estimated at £5 million, of pursuing the ailing Nikolai Glushkov, 68, “to the bitter end” in what he considered to be a politically motivated persecution by the Kremlin.

Mrs Justice Rose said Mr Glushkov, who had to fight the case himself when he ran out of money for lawyers, was “courteous, temperate and helpful”.

Mr Glushkov’s body was discovered on March 12 at his home in New Malden, southwest London, by his daughter, Natalia Glushkova, and his civil partner, Denis Trushin. Few details emerged until