Ekho Moskvy Radio Journalist On Air For First Time After Stabbing

A journalist with Russia's Ekho Moskvy radio who was stabbed in the throat by an attacker last month says she is hoping for a full recovery.

Tatyana Felgengauer, a program host and deputy editor in chief at Ekho Moskvy, took part in a morning show on November 6 -- her first on-camera appearance at the station since the October 23 attack.

Felgengauer said she felt "much better" and plans to return to work by the end of the year.

Felgengauer, who wore a scarf around her neck, said that she had a major operation and that a full recovery would take several more weeks.

In the attack, an assailant entered the radio station's headquarters in a Moscow high-rise office building and stabbed Felgengauer in the throat with a knife.

The suspect, later identified as Boris Grits, 48, was detained by the station's security personnel and has been remanded in pretrial custody until December 23.

Grits, who investigators said told police he had been in "telepathic contact" with Felgengauer for five years, was also ordered to undergo a psychiatric examination.

State media have long targeted Ekho Moskvy and other rare independent media outlets in Russia for critical reports about the government.

Earlier in October, state-run Rossia-24 TV issued a report claiming that Ekho Moskvy had paid for "destabilizing society" ahead of Russia's March presidential election.

On October 27, Ekho Mosky chief Aleksei Venediktov said that one of his leading producers, Ksenia Larina, had left Russia out of concern for her safety.

Larina's flight followed a similar move in September by Yulia Latynina, who has a weekly show on Ekho Moskvy, following a suspected arson attack on her car and other attacks and threats.