What's the latest sign of Russia's slide towards dictatorship? "Hooliganism" is running rampant, apparently.

In this week's edition of "watch Putin selectively use the law to stifle political opposition," Russian media magnate and banker Alexander Lebedev is facing charges of hooliganism and battery for punching a fellow businessman on a television show – a year ago. If convicted, Lebedev could face up to five years behind bars.

But what exactly is "hooliganism", you ask? For Putin, it seems to be a catch-all charge to be applied broadly against anyone who opposes him. It also landed three members of punk group Pussy Riot in jail for two years last month. Their appeal starts on Monday.

Of course, punching someone is never ok – and the difference is Pussy Riot never hurt anybody during their impromptu demonstration in a Russian church.

But the timing of these charges is highly suspicious. Lebedev has become an increasing thorn in Putin's side: in addition to owning newspapers in the UK, he and Mikhail Gorbachev co-own Nobaya Gazeta, a leading opposition paper in Russia, and he has recently supported anti-corruption projects run by Alexey Navalny, one of the strongest voices against state corruption.

Putin has accused Lebedev of financing opposition parties, something Lebedev describes as "violating rule number one – if you have money you should not interfere [in politics]." Despite the allegations, Lebedev has repeatedly said he hasn't directly funded the opposition.

After more than nine months of demonstrations against Putin's rule, thousands more Russians took to the streets again this month, making clear that the protest movement isn't going anywhere. And because he cannot spontaneously arrest tens of thousands of people every time they take to the streets, Putin continues to crack down on high visibility targets like Lebedev. Surely this is as a sign of weakness, rather than strength.

Sources: Guardian, AP, Avaaz, Telegraph, Reuters, AFP, Moscow Times