Student members of a pro-Putin youth group used by the Kremlin to harass opponents are thought to be behind a Moscow stunt apparently designed to discredit a leading Russian newspaper. Dozens of young people at metro station exits handed out rolls of cheap toilet paper to bemused Muscovites on last week printed with newspaper columns identical to those of business daily Kommersant.

The loo rolls even included the private mobile phone number of one of Kommersant's columnists, Yulia Taratuta. Asked to explain what they were doing the youngsters claimed it was part of a marketing campaign.

But Kommersant editor Andrew Vasilev begged to differ – dubbing the incident illegal "hooliganism" that damaged the newspaper's reputation. Kommersant would consider legal action he said.

Taratuta told radio station Ekho Moskvy that she was furious her private number had been published and said that now "every dog in Moscow" would be calling her.

The agitprop action – thought to have been organized by members of Kremlin-backed pro-Putin youth group Nashi – is believed to be linked to a story Kommersant ran in January criticizing the group.

Nashi denied any connection to the stunt but the appearance last Thursday of dozens of rolls of the newsprint toilet paper in the public conveniences of Russia's parliament, the State Duma, suggest some kind of government link.

Set up two years ago as a tool for harnessing youthful energy and enthusiasm for Russian president Vladimir Putin, Nashi – colloquially known at Putinisti – was designed to provoke a counterweight to Kremlin fears of a Ukrainian-style Orange Revolution in Russia.

Following last December's landslide victory for Kremlin party United Russia, Nashi's Russia-wide organisation was partially dismantled. Many observers predict it will soon be closed down altogether having served its purpose.

Last week's anti-Kommersant stunt bore all the hallmarks of previous Nashi actions that have included harassing British Ambassador Tony Brenton following the diplomatic row over the Litvinenko affair and the closures of the British Council's offices outside of Moscow.


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