One of president Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics has been charged with theft and is facing a 10-year prison sentence as the Kremlin steps up a crackdown on dissent.

A top Russian prosecutor today said the killer of journalist Anna Politkovskaya is hiding in Western Europe.

Russian investigators are looking into allegations that self-exiled tycoon Boris Berezovsky could have been involved in the London poisoning death of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, a top law enforcement official said Friday.