Mayor of town just outside Moscow found shot

The mayor of a town just outside Moscow was found shot to death in a children's playground near his apartment building, police said Friday.

Photo: Mayor of town just outside Moscow found shot

Authorities suspect that the slaying of Viktor Dorkin was linked to his political activities in the military-industrial town of Dzerzhinsky, known in Russia as the town, where solid rocket fuel is produced. The town also known for its power station, which is one of the largest thermoelectric power stations in the world

Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Savchenko said in remarks televised on Russia's Channel One.

Dorkin's bullet-riddled body was found at about 3 a.m., said Alexander Alexeyev, the spokesman for the Moscow regional police. Police found 10 pistol cartridge cases at the site, the ITAR-Tass news agency said.

Police did not rule out that the slaying was a contract murder, ITAR-Tass said. Such murders have plagued post-Soviet Russia, claiming the lives of numerous politicians, businessmen and journalists. , reports the AP.

I.L.