Tuesday's sharply critical post on Telegram from lawyer Ilja Remeslo has caused astonishment in Russian online circles.
Remeslo, 42, had previously spent years working on the Kremlin's behalf, conducting smear campaigns against opposition and independent journalists. Under the headline "Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin," he instead paints the president as an "illegitimate" leader guilty of corruption, tyranny and war crimes.
On Thursday, reports said Remeslo had been admitted to a psychiatric ward in St. Petersburg; international media that contacted the hospital confirmed this.
