(Russian Journalist) Anna Politkovskaya Murdered in Moscow

Grani.ru ^ | October 7th, 2006

[struwwelpeter]

Anna Politkovskaya, the famous journalist and political commentator from Novaya Gazeta was killed in Moscow. This was reported by Novaya Gazeta's chief editor Dmitri Muratov to the radio station Echo of Moscow.

The murder occurred around 5 in the evening on Lesnaya Street, where Politkovskaya lived. An unknown man in dark clothing shot her with a pistol.

A police source reported to Interfax that a neighbor of the journalist found her body in the elevator. Police also found a discarded Makarov pistol and four empty cartridges.

Politkovskaya's home is now cordoned off by the police, reported ITAR-TASS. The police are questioning residents, trying to find out if anyone heard the shots or saw any suspicious characters in the stairwell.

According to Moscow prosecutor Yuriy Semin, a criminal case has been opened. Police are looking for a young man, slightly taller than average, with a thin body build. He may be wearing a dark baseball cap.

Igor Yakovenko, the general secretary of the Russian Journalists Union told Echo of Moscow that Politkovskaya was an absolutely fearless individual. Without fail, she was 'number one' in investigating dangerous subjects, and the took on even the most challenging problems.

Politkovskaya was threatened one several occasions. In September of 2001 she published an article in Novaya Gazeta, titled 'The Missing People', which discussed the fate of Chechen Zelimhan Murdalov, who was arrested in Chechnya by the Hanty-Mansiysk special police early in 2001, then later disappeared. Afterwards the journalist began to receive theatening emails from a certain 'Cadet'. 'Cadet' was the nickname of Sergei Lapin, an officer of the Hanty-Mansiysk special police, and the officer who questioned Murdalov after his arrest. Lapin was later arrested, but the charges were dropped.

In September of 2004, while the tragic events in the Beslan school were taking place, Anna Politkovskaya tried to fly to Beslan. As Politkovskaya said, she was "removed from the field" so that she could not offer her plan to remedy the situation. (Struwwelpeter note: she was alleged to have been poisoned while waiting for her flight from Rostov.)

Politkovskaya worked as a commentator for Novaya Gazeta since 1999. Several times she travelled to combat zones and refugee camps in Dagestan, as well as Ingushetia and Chechnya. In addition, Politkovskaya worked in human rights: she assisted the mothers of dead soldiers in court, investigated corruption in the Russian ministry of defense and in the headquarters of the unified federal forces in Chechnya. Politkovskaya's last article in Novaya Gazeta, "Punitive agreement", described the composition and activitives of the Chechen forces, which fight on the side of federal forces.

07.10.2006 17:50

[familyop]

I would like to find out as to why, when the FR administration finds the time. I have asked before, but they must have been busy then.

Re. posting not allowed from MosNews (while posting allowed from Russian government owned publications, and *no* intended implication, of course, that FR has the same reason as Romanov but thought FR admin./owners should see that.)

[dennisw]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Politkovskaya

[familyop]

Have you studied the earlier history of the War with Chechnya? I agree on fighting against terrorist regimes. But it seems that the Russian government has at least had in the past, an interest other than fighting terrorism in that conflict.

[Condor51]

Well then I was misinformed from where I bought it as to the KGB. But mine was from the Stassi, that was confirmed. In any case I love my little Mak.

And the Tokarev is nice too, it's on my list but I need my new C&R license first. I waited a tad too long to renew.

[struwwelpeter]

Wikipedia's fast!

Under her bio, in the category Murdered Journalists were some interesting entries:

"Veronika Cherkasova, Belarusian journalist, born in Minsk, Belarus. She was stabbed to death in her Minsk apartment on October 20, 2004 ....(SNIP)... she published several articles about illegal arms trade between Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus and Saddam Hussein's Iraq."

(Lukashenko's Belarus keeps very close ties to Russia, and often acts as a conduit for Russian weapons to countries too contraversial to supply directly.)

"Dmitry Zavadsky, a Belarusian journalist, cameraman of Russian Public Television ORT. On July 7, 2000 Dmitry Zavadsky drove to the Minsk airport to meet journalist colleague Pavel Sheremet. His car was latter found at the airport, but Zavadsky has not been seen since...(SNIP)...His body was never recovered and the circumstances of his presumed death were not explained."

(Ditto)

"Georgiy Ruslanovich Gongadze, a Ukrainian journalist kidnapped and murdered in 2000. The circumstances of his death became a national scandal and a focus for protests against the government of the then President, Leonid Kuchma. Gongadze's killers have yet to be publicly identified or put on trial...(SNIP)... in March 2005. His widow Myroslava Gongadze and their two children received political asylum in the United States and have lived there since 2001."

"Paul Klebnikov, an American journalist of Russian descent...(SNIP)...He wrote Godfather of the Kremlin (September 2000), a biography of Boris Berezovsky, a Russian tycoon. Berezovsky was openly critical of Klebnikov's writings, particularly an article published in Forbes in 1996 about his (alleged) criminal activities for which he filed a libel suit. Forbes was forced to retract the allegations. Berezovsky is wanted in Russia on fraud charges and was granted political asylum in the UK."

Other murdered Russian journalists (from CPJ):
Vladimir Yatsina, ITAR-TASS, February 20, 2000, Chechnya
Igor Domnikov, Novaya Gazeta, July 16, 2000, Moscow
Eduard Markevich, Novy Reft, September 18, 2001, Reftinsky, Sverdlovsk Region
Natalya Skryl, Nashe Vremya, March 9, 2002, Rostov-on-Don
Valery Ivanov, Tolyattinskoye Obozreniye, April 29, 2002, Togliatti
Aleksei Sidorov, Tolyattinskoye Obozreniye, October 9, 2003, Togliatti

CPJ's website has a lot on harassment and violence against reporters in Russia

[MarMema]

Wow.

Togliatti's leading newspaper is the Togliatti Observer. Its founding editor, Valery Ivanov, was murdered in April 2002.Ivanov was shot several times outside his home with a silenced pistol as he went out to buy sweets for his daughter. He was 32.

" The Togliatti Observer had a reputation for mounting tough investigations into local crime and corruption, and was unafraid to link the local authorities and police to organised crime rackets costing the city millions of dollars."

This really reeks to high heaven. <>"Ivanov's colleague Alexei Sidorov took over as editor, and vowed to continue his friend's work. Under Sidorov, the Togliatti Observer continued to publish serious investigations. But on the evening of 9 October 2003, Sidorov was also murdered. He was stabbed several times with an ice pick, and died on the steps of his block of flats, having managed to crawl a few yards to buzz his wife on the entry-phone. "

"More than 130 journalists have been killed since 1991"
Writing is from 2004, so that's ten per year, roughly.

[MarMema]

I chose Valery because many years ago I recall posting here a writing/link of his about the threat to Russian journalists, btw.

[struwwelpeter]

Ivanov and Sidorov, from the BBC article, sound like good men. Courageous - Russia's provinces are a lot like Chicago and New Orleans, step on the wrong toes and you could end up pod asfaltom (under the asphalt).

But to murder a journalist in the center of Moscow?

Sad.

Everyone's quick to say this is Putin's birthday present, but I know that many crooked cops and generals would have loved to shut her up as well.

She'll be hard to replace, and be a chilling reminder to those journalists who wish to dig up unconvenient facts.

[MarMema]

I see there is a journalist on trial for satirizing Putin.

I'm afraid the Russians have gone way too far into fascism, though as you know I defended them here for many years.

That said I treated myself to three bottles of excellent Georgian wine this afternoon while shopping. The Russian shopkeepers laughed when I pointed out that their fellow Russians at home no longer had access to the stuff, at least not on the free market.

[struwwelpeter]

I've tried what was supposedly Stalin's favorite, I think it was called "Hvanchkara." It's a decent red wine, but I'm more into clear and amber-colored liquids. Supposedly the best Georgian wine is Kindzmarauly (sp?).

Russia could probably get by without Georgian wine, but what will they do for Adjika?

Regarding Putin, I remember your, er, passionate defenses of him ;-) After Yeltsin's "Arkansas in Moscow", anyone looked like an improvement, but I suppose that what is good for Russia is not necessarily better for the West, and Russia's neighbors especially.

Putin lost me when he claimed to be a Vysotskiy fan.

[Centurion2000]

bump

[struwwelpeter]

Anna Politkovskaya on Russia, from Beslan ushers in Putin’s new age of terror, 10/17/2004:

"The authorities are so afraid of us. Every age has its own characteristics. Russia in Brezhnev’s time was cynically demented. Yeltsin’s reign was a time for casting your net wide and seeing how much you could catch. Now it is the Age of Putin, an era of cowardice, and the more afraid he becomes, the more he tightens the screws. Cowards cannot counter terrorism. That is something only the resolute and the intelligent can do.

"Today we stand on the brink of an abyss. This month the funeral marches played in memory of the victims of terrorism seem to accompany the funeral of Russian democracy. The opposition has been routed and is almost silent. A political winter is closing in and nobody can tell how long we may have to wait for the next thaw.

"How have Europe and the world in general taken Putin’s “anti- terrorist” policies? Viewing their reaction from Moscow, it seems they have simply turned a blind eye to it all. Instead all we get is the vodka, the caviar, the gas, the oil, the bears, people of a certain profession . . . exotic Russia seems all still to be in place."

[struwwelpeter]

Here's another Freeper's comments on Politkovskaya:

A vanity from a former Hostage

I would like to summon up my courage and declare that, of all the participants in this discussion, only I am personally acquainted with Anna Politkovskaya and, perhaps, the reality of Russia.

And so, I feel that I have the right to say the following:

1. It is an abominable idea, that Anna was not poisoned, but was only trying to enhance her image. She has already made her name and displayed her authority, not only in the former Soviet Union, but in other countries as well. None of you show her any sympathy, though no one has the right to take her life outside of the law, no matter how bad she may be.

2. Have any of you, as Anna did, sat in a hole without food or water, as a hostage of the federals in Chechnya, have any of you seen murdered children and the faces of their parents, so that you can accuse her of deceipt or hypocrisy for the sake of popularity? Who of you has left all business behind in the USA, in order to stand in the middle of a city square under the guns of spetsnaz and terrorists, awaiting the decision by some headquarters on whether you could buy some juice with your own money to carry into the Moscow theater, to help us, the hostages there?

3. Why has the elementary thought not occurred to any of you, that a person can love their country, their city, their people, and want that life in their country should be as comfortable as in the USA?

Scroll through the comments, some are very brutal.

[SevenofNine]

Why does Vlady look like young Illya from Man of the UNCLE LOL!

[struwwelpeter]

Funny, I was thinking he looked more like Elmer Fudd.

[ASOC]

I was in the Komi Republic a few years back, none of the elevators I tried and few fridges worked. The Western hotels were all first class, of course, but you still could not drink the water. Bathing was a bit dodgy - the sign in my hotel rooms called the water "technical water" - wasn't too sure on that one.

I sure things are much better with Putin in charge.

[SevenofNine]

Look at him and young David McCallum LOL!

Put picture together LOL!

[JadeEmperor]

Yeah, but there is a rather stark difference between Moscow and Komi. And to a lesser extent - between Moscow (and maybe a few other major cities) and the rest of Russia. Especially, Siberia.

East of the Urals things are pretty much as you describe. But Moscow is not Komi. Its more like "a country within a country". Even more true now, than it was while USSR existed. There is a Russian blogger who traveled by motorbike from the Baltics to Vladivostok, describing his roadtrip experiences in great detail and with photos. If any of you read Russian, here is his account:

http://alekcei.livejournal.com/2006/08/06/

West of the Urals things rapidly become completely third world. Also, most of the rural/old industrial town infrastructure (that supported the populations under Soviet command economy) has decayed to the point of making it completely unsustainable. Yet people somehow exist there anyway. Rampant and chronic alcoholism, decrepid lifestyles - like people scavenging for scrap metal and selling it to support their alcoholic habits, and somehow making it through to the next day. Everything else, disease, poverty, dementia and degradation follows. In general things are more bleak for those people then they were under the Soviets. They both envy and hate the wealthy Moscow and its rule, but lack any willpower to change their condition, as they regard it with a grim cynical fatalism. Its a bizzare and perhaps uncomprehensible to a Westerner state of mind.

Moscow and probably St. Petes and a few others are the only "upbeat" places in Russia, it seems. Many new-generation Muscovites, full of nationalistic "self-esteem" do not know what their own country 100 kilometers from Moscow is like at all...

[MarMema]

I think that is the same as the one that is my favorite. What do you think? Or am I wrong?

Heh, heh, mine is a 98.

In honor of Russia today I bought also a semi-sweet red and a dry white.

This will be a gift for a friend at liturgy tomorrow.

They had a large selection and said they planned to keep them in stock. Whew. That was a relief.

[familyop]

"Here's another Freeper's comments on Politkovskaya: A vanity from a former Hostage"

Heh. I posted a comment to it.