sorship. Having regard to the elements in its possession, the Court finds that the applicant could reasonably be expected to raise this grievance at the domestic level by applying to the competent courts with a complaint about the breach of his rights guaranteed by the aforementioned Law.
91. It follows that the applicant has failed to exhaust the available domestic remedies in respect of his grievances and this part of the application must be rejected pursuant to Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.
III. Alleged violation of Article 34 of the Convention
92. The applicant complained that on a few occasions the authorities had tried to force him to withdraw the case from the Court. This complaint falls to be examined under Article 34 of the Convention which provides as follows:
Article 34 of the Convention
"The Court may receive applications from any person, non-governmental organisation or group of individuals claiming to be the victim of a violation by one of the High Contracting Parties of the rights set forth in the Convention or the Protocols thereto. The High Contracting Parties undertake not to hinder in any way the effective exercise of this right."
A. The parties' submissions
93. As regards the alleged pressure by the authority to withdraw the case, the Government denied it and submitted explanatory notes by the officials allegedly involved (see paragraphs 32 to 39 above).
94. The applicant disagreed. In particular, he submitted that he was not the author of the statement of 12 October 2004.
B. The Court's assessment
95. The Court reiterates that it is of the utmost importance for the effective operation of the system of individual petition instituted by Article 34 that applicants or potential applicants should be able to communicate freely with the Court without being subjected to any form of pressure from the authorities to withdraw or modify their complaints (see, among other authorities, Akdivar and Others v. Turkey, 16 September 1996, § 105, Reports 1996-IV, and Aksoy v. Turkey, 18 December 1996, § 105, Reports 1996-VI). In this context, "pressure" includes not only direct coercion and flagrant acts of intimidation but also other improper indirect acts or contacts designed to dissuade or discourage applicants from pursuing a Convention remedy (see Kurt v. Turkey, 25 May 1998, § 159, Reports 1998-III).
96. Furthermore, whether or not contacts between the authorities and an applicant are tantamount to unacceptable practices from the standpoint of Article 34 must be determined in the light of the particular circumstances of the case. In this respect, regard must be had to the vulnerability of the complainant and his or her susceptibility to influence exerted by the authorities (see Akdivar and Others and Kurt, both cited above, § 105 and § 160 respectively). The applicant's position might be particularly vulnerable when he is held in custody with limited contacts with his family or the outside world (see {Cotlet} v. Romania, No. 38565/97, § 71, 3 June 2003).
97. The Court notes that from the materials in its possession it follows that the applicant was contacted by State officials on three occasions: on 12 October 2004 by Mr Ch. and Mr B. from the Ministry of Justice, and on 14 October 2004 and on 20 - 21 January 2005 by respectively Mr K. and Mr Zh. from the Regional Prosecutor's Office.
98. The Government explained, and in the absence of any indication to the contrary the Court is satisfied with this explanation, that the above-mentioned interviews had taken place during the check carried out by the competent bodies of the Russian Federation in connection with the request by the European Court of Human Rights dated 2 September 2004 to the Representative of the Government to clarify the applicant
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