The attack, which occurred outside the Green World offices on Feb.18 at about 8 P.M. left Bodrov hospitalized with a concussion for 10 days. He was released without any permanent injuries, according to colleagues, and was well enough to make a planned trip to Germany later in the month.

Green World is located 70 kilometers west of St. Petersburg in Sosnovy Bor, which is home to the beleaguered and aging Leningrad Atomic Energy Station, or LAES, which has long been a target of Green World criticism and ecological exposes.

Bodrov’s colleagues characterized the attack as “professional” noting that he was felled by a single blow from behind and that none of his valuables, including his wallet or mobile phone, were missing after the attack.

LAES – which has four RBMK-1000 Chernobyl-style reactors – is often in dangerous disrepair and its waste storage facilities have been at full capacity for years.

The town also hosts a metal reworking plant that re-smelts formerly radioactive metal into household items, a practice that has drawn outcry from Bodrov’s Green World and other organizations.