Police in Russia's southern Astrakhan region are investigating a hacker who broke into the regional parliament’s website and declared independence from the Russian Federation.
The announcement remained on the website for at least two hours on October 7.
It claimed the Astrakhan region has declared independence from Russia and is now called the Lower-Volga People's Republic.
The post claimed it was from a so-called "Extraordinary Committee" consisting of the regional parliament's chairman, the regional governor, the chief of regional security, and a former leader of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, Igor Strelkov.
The hacker appeared to be calling attention to Russian laws against public calls for separatism at a time when the Kremlin supports what it calls "a right for self-determination" for pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine.
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
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