Russians remember killed reporter

BBC ^ | 10-08-2006 | BBC

[sergey1973]

Hundreds of people have gathered in central Moscow to pay tribute to prominent journalist Anna Politkovskaya -a day after she was murdered.

[sergey1973]

The murder of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya is the latest of the murders of a number of prominent journalists, politicians, activists and business people in Putin and Yeltsin Russia that I'm afraid will go unresolved for a long time to come. I certainly disapprove of Politkovskaya sympathies toward Chechen Islamist insurgency, but murdering the reporter for her political views is always an ugly crime that can never be excused. Pray for her family and especially her children who now left without mother.

[sergey1973]

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[winner3000]

Russia is still run by thugs

[domenad]

Wait a minute wait a minute, I think we're getting off the point here. It's GEORGE SMIRKING MCMONKEYCHIMP BUSH that is the bad guy here, remember? So Putin has one of his critics assassinated, big deal. So what if he's basically holding the former eastern bloc hostage, threatening to let them freeze to death. GEORGE BUSH LIED! REMEMBER! LIED!

[Brad from Tennessee]

Putin and his regime are bolder than the old Soviet Union, at least after Stalin. The Soviets used to trump up criminal charges and jail their enemies our have them declared incompetent and put them in an insane asylum. Putin just has them murdered. The international press needs to get off their rear ends and besiege the Kremlin with negative publicity. But I'm not holding by breath. CNN might lose their access to Russian government big shots.

[Wormwood]

Putin just has them murdered.

And strangely, certain Freepers will cheer simply because they dislike the politics of the victim.

[YdontUleaveLibs]

I can't seem to find any tears for this one. She still advocated for the people that murdered 300 people in cold blood, most of them children.

[weegee]

Ms Politkovskaya often wrote about human rights abuses in Chechnya and her last published article in Novaya Gazeta attacked pro-Moscow militia there.

[snip]

Ms Politkovskaya became ill with food-poisoning on her way to report on the Beslan school siege in 2004, which some believed to be an attempt on her life.

Anyone have details on her coverage of the Chechnyan militants' rape and massacre of small school children at Beslan? Talk about human rights abuses.

Maybe she was offed by a parent of one of the murdered. I don't believe in vigilantism. Certainly we find the words of the Phelps' blaming the Amish girls for their own deaths and condemning them to Hell publicly.

Here's what appears to be an activist reporter siding with a militant movement. There are lots of victims of the violence and each survivor could have a beef. It seems quick to be pointing the finger of blame at the Russian government.

[weegee]

CNN kept quiet about torture, murder, and abuse under Saddam Hussein to maintain their Baghdad bureau.

I seriously doubt they will speak out against Mother Russia.

The News We (CNN) Kept To Ourselves [must read] (The New York Times - 04/11/03)

[sergey1973]

Politkovskaya was a humanitarian who was covering the horrors of Russian-Chechen war and the suffering of ordinary Chechens caught in this war. Her humanitarian concerns were clearly not balanced with the understanding of the danger Islamic Imperialism posed to Russia and the rest of the world. She covered extensively the abuses committed by Russian and local pro-Russian Chechen forces during the war, but she did not balance it with understanding that Chechens are just the pawns in the war of Civilizations--Kremlin authocrats vs. North Caucasus Jihadists.

Her unbalanced humanitarianism led her to unsound political positions, like supporting negotiations with Chechen "moderates" like Maskhadov although it's now clear to me and should be clear to others that the so called "moderate" Islamists is nothing but a game of deception waged by the worldwide Jihadists to split the front against them and advance their agenda.

Nevertheless, she certainly did not deserve to be murdered and her murder is an ugly political crime that I fear will be unresolved with current leadership at the helm.

[sergey1973]

Politkovskaya was a humanitarian who was covering the horrors of Russian-Chechen war and the suffering of ordinary Chechens caught in this war. Her humanitarian concerns were clearly not balanced with the understanding of the danger Islamic Imperialism posed to Russia and the rest of the world. She covered extensively the abuses committed by Russian and local pro-Russian Chechen forces during the war, but she did not balance it with understanding that Chechens are just the pawns in the war of Civilizations--Kremlin authocrats vs. North Caucasus Jihadists.

Her unbalanced humanitarianism led her to unsound political positions, like supporting negotiations with Chechen "moderates" like Maskhadov although it's now clear to me and should be clear to others that the so called "moderate" Islamists is nothing but a game of deception waged by the worldwide Jihadists to split the front against them and advance their agenda.

Nevertheless, she certainly did not deserve to be murdered and her murder is an ugly political crime that I fear will be unresolved with current leadership at the helm.

[inpajamas]

A while back I was at Barnes a & Nobel and I saw this blue book 'Putin's Russia.' I picked it up and thumbed through it and it was plain to see that Russia was going back into darkness. I was surprised that the woman who wrote the book was able to do so and still be free or still be in Russia.

It looks like I don't have to be surprised anymore.

Here is the last paragraph of a review by Robert Chandler on Ann's book 'Putin's Russia'

"There are at least two good reasons for buying this book. One is that Politkovskaya only just survived a recent attempt on her life by the security services. Unless there is whole-hearted support for her from Western journalists, politicians and the general public, she is likely to be assassinated. The other is that the cataclysm that has engulfed Russia concerns us all; today's depraved and defeated Russia may be a greater danger to the world than the 'evil empire' of the past."

[YdontUleaveLibs]

Well I am torn. I don't think murder was the way to go. However, I still have a hard time caring that she is gone. It is a very complex issue actually. What do you do with people that can give quarter to people that shoot airplanes out of the skies or send black widows into theatres to kill your citizens?

[Sergei_DV]

Killing Politkowskaya surely is a provocation. Liberasts loosin ground in Russia, they are almost forgotten, for publicity they can make human sacrifice.

[montag813]

However, I still have a hard time caring that she is gone.

Me neither. Did she learn nothing from reading Orianna Falacci? Did she learn nothing at all from the murdered children of Beslan?

[struwwelpeter]

From Novaya Gazeta:

ANYA

Anya



On Saturday, October 7th,
Anna Politkovskaya,
correspondent of Novaya Gazeta
was killed in the stairwell of her home

        She was beautiful, and through the years became only more beautiful. Do you do know why? At first we merely receive our countenance from God, and then the rest we make of it ourselves in the way that we live.
       Still, they say that in maturity the soul begins to appear on face. Her soul was beautiful.
       She was feminine. She knew how to laugh and joke and cry from injustice. Any injustice, no matter with respect to whom, she took as her personal enemy, and she fought it with all her strength.
       She was amazingly courageous, much more courageous than those many macho types in their armored jeeps, surrounded by bodyguards.
       They threatened her, they tried to intimidate her, and arranged shadows and searches. She was arrested in Chechnya by "our own" airborne forces, and they threatened to shoot her. They poisoned her when she flew to Beslan. She clawed her way back to life, and, though afterwards she was never really as healthy as before, her conscience was all the stronger.
       Many people, even well-wishers of Novaya Gazeta, now and then said: "Well, your Politkovskaya - she's too much already..." Not too much! She always wrote the truth. It is another matter that this truth was frequently too terrible, that many people's consciences refused to accept it. And so, as a protective reaction, they said she was "too much already." Sometimes even our editorial staff.
       For the average person, probably, the most difficult thing is to turn away from a terrible fact. But, if we were to look evil directly in the eye, it cannot remain; it will pass. Anya looked evil directly in the eye, and, perhaps, she remained the conqueror in the worst situations. Perhaps she remained alive where her lowered eyes would have meant her death.
       For us she is still alive. We will be never accept the death of our Anya. Whoever undertook this brutal murder - in the center of Moscow, in broad daylight, we ourselves will search for the killers. We have a good idea where they can be located...
       In Europe, and in America, right now the question is being discussed: what is the state of the independent media in Russia? Novaya Gazeta in recent years has had three of its leading journalists murdered.
       Igor Domnikov. His killers - because of the efforts of honest detectives and this newspaper - were brought to court.
       Yuri Shchekochihin. Even the authorities in his homeland refused to look at the results of his autopsy... but we are continuing our investigation, and his killers will be punished.
       Now they have taken our Anya Politkovskaya... They killed not just a journalist, not just a human rights advocate, or a citizen, they killed a beautiful woman and mother.
       While there is still a Novaya Gazeta, her killers will not sleep quietly.
       
       Novaya Gazeta
       09.10.2006

From the condolences weblog:

Aleksandr Usachev:
Who is behind this and the earlier murders?
Who wishes to stand with one foot in Europe, and with the other leg kick the objectionables in the rear and tries to keep his balance in the process?
Who is next?
Who will be the last?
God grant that the last victim of this undeclared war on the truth is Anna Politkovskaya...
Eternal is her memory, and condolences to her loved ones.

Serg:
It seems to me that we are living in '1984' of George Orwell, or during the time of the inquisition. If they are killing journalists, it means they are afraid of their words, and seriously afraid. But why do why allow ourselves to be silent? To kill a lot of people is more difficult.
I kneel down before Anna Politkovskaya, such honest and fearless people are unfortunately very few.
Sergey, Krasnodar

MTV:
They have extinguished yet another ray of light in this dark empire.

Mihail:
Thank you, for the truth! For freedom! For the example!
You are a hero!
Rest in peace.

Mihail Bogomolov:
Anna Stepanovna, forgive us! But we do not say 'farewell!' You remain with us, as one of the few people who didn't just look upon the government scum, but called them exactly what they deserved: scum.
Don't say with sorrow: 'They are gone!' But with gratitude: 'They were!'

Yurii:
SUCH news from Russia already doesn't suprise us, we all felt the sharp pain when we knew of Anna Politkovskaya's death. There are fewer and fewer people who aren't afraid to 'take to the streets', and Politkovskaya was the brightest light among them.

Marina:
It's hard to be an honest person in a bandit land...

Lev:
She gave us all strength...

Olga:
My tears choke me, it's hard to write, such an honest person, so close to my heart.
These reptiles are killing the last people, hoping that a society of beasts remains. They hope to frighten everyone, to make us stop thinking. Let the earth be your pillow, Lord protect her bright spirit, Amen.

Sergey:
Today Russia has no conscience. They killed it.

We mourn with you!
Government of force, stupid government, without brains,
Do you think that dying in her flower of life
She leaves, that the country is all like a prison,
Not ruled by law, but by a pistol?
But a bullet is a weak argument,
Obviously the truth is simple, like two times two:
Though Anna Politkovskaya is no more,
Her Novaya Gazeta is alive!
A.N. Kapitonov

Vika:
They feared her!!! The men revealed by authority and money! Fear this, you cowards, Anna from the skies will reveal all your meannesses, from there even more easily... But they did not count on one thing, yes, we were shaken by this murder, but we were not lost, we didn't scatter, we balled up our fists. If this brittle woman could resist this steam roller, this evil, then I can. Glory to you Anna, the fearless hero! You have it much better up there in heaven, than we do here in Russian, you have much more pleasant company. We remember everything, and this means that you live on, and evil will fall upon all the killers!
Glory to you, hero!

Good bye, my friend, good bye.
My dear one, you are inside my breast.
This predestined parting,
Promises a reunion ahead.
Good bye, my friend, without a handshake, without a word,
Do not get sad or furrow your brow,
Dying is nothing new in this life,
But living, of course, isn't novel either.
(S. Yesenin, ‹1925›)

Bela:
Dear Anna,
Thank you, for loudly saying what many feared to think,
Thank you, for going ahead, when many lagged behind,
Thank you, for trying to save the innocent who were condemned,
Thank you, for treasuring human life so,
Thank you, for telling us the truth,
Thank you, for your life,
Thank you,
A bright memory of you.

Kira:
Sincerest condolences, I am crying... as if one of my own had died. Maybe I can say that it is so. Anna was at 'Nord-Ost', there where my closest person in the world was, ... Her whole life she tried to help those who had it bad. I always trusted her. Eternal is her memory...

Svetlana:
Bitter. Unmeasurable sadness. Shame for our nation, for all of us. Anna Politkovskaya was fearless. Her readers feared for her. It happened anyway. How THEY master us! How we allowed THEM to master us!
Thank you, Anna! All these years you showed us how we should live. Thank you, and forgive us.

Balakar:
99% corruption, 99% stupidity, 99% lies and meanness, and 1 % honest people. They are shooting and forcing out of the country the last of this percent. My condolences to all those close to Anna. And I'm very sorry for myself and my children.

Leonid:
Shame and fear for the country in which I was once born. Judging for everything, anything goes, and it's a frighteningly long time until the dawn. Hang in there, like Anna hung in there, and don't lose hope, we are with you. Let the earth be your pillow!"

(October 7th, 2006, in memory of Anna Politkovskaya)

Don't listen for her respiration, and don't summon the physicians -
Her soul already walks barefoot along the celestial lawn.
God takes away the good by the hands of bastards.
Idle neighbors stare out from their windows.
What is it to her, spending time in spite with praise and disparagement?
She is already away from this bloody suffering.
The quivering reflection of a candle is like a halo overhead.
And the next on the list places flowers on her coffin.
Viktor Kagan

[YdontUleaveLibs]

Bleh.

[struwwelpeter]

Interestingly enough, there is a long tribute to Politkovskaya on her condolences weblog, signed by "Achyad Idigov, head of the committee of external relatons of the parliament of the Chechen Republic - Ichkeriya, plenipotentiary representative of the CR-Ichkeriya in exile."

Don't know if it's geniune. Don't know if any of the entries are.

[struwwelpeter]

A few more comments from Anya's condolences weblog:

Mimoshla
Anna annoyed the authorities, like a bone in their throat, and they killed her. They will stop at nothing! Power corrupts.

Natasha
How awful it is to live in our country... This grief is impossible to put into words. We were so proud that there could be such journalists - courageous, fearless, brave. We are many more than they authorities think, and together we'll set things right.

Rustam Kersanov
Goodbye, Anna! You were a talanted journalist and a fearless person. I hope your courage helps to awaken the sleeping conscience of the average man and nourish the fighters.

Yakov
I feel as I did once when I heard of Galich's death. And if the government was involved, you'll never know. A bright memory of her!

Ingushetia
I hope that these curs answer in this life. Anna was an honest, brave person.

Sergey
A terrible death. I'm very sad for this remarkable person. I'm very sad for all the people who have no rights whatsoever, including a right to life. The pomp of holidays and fireworks in their honor - that is all the authorities are interested in. They kill people and go unpunished, homes are falling apart from age and disrepair, people are buried alive while asleep. And there is no end to this, no limit. Forgive us, Anya!

Jefff
Poor Russia! Really you need another 300 years to understand who is manipulating, scaring, and killing you. If you can mourn Anna today and then leave her in peace, then she wasn't needed by you in life. Today it's too late, however. Anna knew what she was doing and you should too. Condolences to both of you.

Katerina
The murder of any journalist is terrible. It is a gag, by which they shut our mouth. I am sorry for Anna, such a talented and purposeful person. It is pitiful and terrible that deeds such as this are still possible...