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Assassination of Anna Politkovskaya

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Anna Politkovskaja in 2005, one year before her murder
Spontaneous citizens' memorial at entrance to Anna Politkovskaya's Moscow apartment building, 10 October 2006

On 7 October 2006, Russian journalist, writer and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in the elevator of her apartment block in central Moscow. She was known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and for criticism of Vladimir Putin.[1][2] She authored several books about the Chechen wars, as well as Putin's Russia, and received several international awards for her work. Her murder, believed to be a contract killing, sparked a strong international reaction. Three Chechens were arrested for the murder, but were acquitted. The verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court of Russia and new trials were held. In total, six people were convicted of charges related to her death.

Background

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Politkovskaya's book, Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy, criticized Putin's federal presidency, including his pursuit of the Second Chechen War. She accused Putin and the Russian secret service FSB of stifling civil liberties to establish a Soviet-style dictatorship, adding that "it is we who are responsible for Putin's policies":

"Society has shown limitless apathy.... As the Chekists have become entrenched in power, we have let them see our fear, and thereby have only intensified their urge to treat us like cattle. The KGB respects only the strong. The weak it devours. We of all people ought to know that."

She also wrote:

"We are hurtling back into a Soviet abyss, into an information vacuum that spells death from our own ignorance. All we have left is the internet, where information is still freely available. For the rest, if you want to go on working as a journalist, it's total servility to Putin. Otherwise, it can be death, the bullet, poison, or trial—whatever our special services, Putin's guard dogs, see fit."[3]

"People often tell me that I am a pessimist, that I don't believe in the strength of the Russian people, that I am obsessive in my opposition to Putin and see nothing beyond that," she opens an essay titled Am I Afraid?, finishing it—and the book—with the words: "If anybody thinks they can take comfort from the 'optimistic' forecast, let them do so. It is certainly the easier way, but it is the death sentence for our grandchildren."[4][5]

Death threats

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In September 2004, while traveling to Beslan, Russia, during the Beslan school hostage crisis to help in negotiations with the hostage-takers, Politkovskaya fell violently ill and lost consciousness after drinking tea. She had been reportedly poisoned,[6] with some accusing the former Soviet secret police poison facility.[7]

In December 2005, while attending a conference on freedom of the press organized by Reporters Without Borders in Vienna, Austria, Politkovskaya said: "People sometimes pay with their lives for saying aloud what they think. In fact, one can even get killed for giving me information. I am not the only one in danger. I have examples that prove it."[8] She often received death threats as a result of her work,[9] including being threatened with rape and experiencing a mock execution after being arrested by the military in Chechnya.[10]

According to Russian state security officer Alexander Litvinenko, Politkovskaya asked him if her life was in imminent danger before the assassination. He confirmed the danger and recommended her to escape from Russia immediately. He also asserted that former presidential candidate Irina Hakamada warned Politkovskaya about threats to her life coming from Putin. Hakamada later denied her involvement in passing any specific threats, and said that she warned Politkovskaya only in general terms more than a year before her death.[11] The warning by Litvinenko was possibly related to an earlier statement made by Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who claimed that former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Boris Nemtsov received word from Hakamada that Putin threatened her and like-minded colleagues in person. According to Berezovsky, Putin uttered that Hakamada and her colleagues "will take in the head immediately, literally, not figuratively" if they "open the mouth" about the Russian apartment bombings.[12]

Assassination

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On 7 October 2006, Politkovskaya was found shot dead in the elevator of her apartment block in central Moscow.[13][14] Police found a Makarov pistol and four shell casings beside her body. Reports indicated a contract killing, as she was shot four times, once in the head.[15][16]

The assassination occurred on Vladimir Putin's birthday and two days after Ramzan Kadyrov's 30th birthday celebrations, "raising suspicions that the murder was an unasked-for present from a henchman of one or both".[17][18]: 479–482  According to Boris Volodarsky, "The next signature murder was on 7 October when Anna Politkovskaya was shot on Putin's birthday. They certainly could not afford another method – the whole effect would be lost should she die in a car accident or of a heart attack. It was all self-protection, of course, as the lady had slapped Putin in the face by publishing her book Putin's Russia in the West"[19]: 251 

The funeral was held on Tuesday, 11 October 2006, at 2:30 p.m. at the Troyekurovsky Cemetery. Before Politkovskaya was buried, more than 1,000 people filed past her coffin. Dozens of Politkovskaya's colleagues, public figures and admirers of her work gathered for the funeral. No high-ranking Russian officials were seen at the ceremony.[20]

Reaction

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External videos
video icon Tribute to Anna Politkovskaya hosted by the Committee to Protect Journalists and the PEN American Center, 6 December 2006, C-SPAN
Main article: Reactions to the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya

The European Union and many governments condemned the murder of Politkovskaya, calling for a thorough investigation into the crime by Russian authorities.

Soon after her death, Vitaly Yaroshevsky, deputy editor of Novaya Gazeta, where she worked, said: "The first thing that comes to mind is that Anna was killed for her professional activities. We don't see any other motive for this terrible crime."[14] He said Politkovskaya gave an interview to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty the week before her death in which she said she was a witness in a criminal case against Ramzan Kadyrov in connection with abductions in Chechnya—a case based on her reporting. In that same interview, she called Kadyrov the "Stalin of our days".[21]

On 8 October 2006, hundreds rallied in downtown Moscow to protest the murder of Politkovskaya and the recent crackdown on ethnic Georgians.[22] The demonstration was described by the Moscow-based, liberal radio station Echo of Moscow as "the largest protest rally of the opposition recently held in Russia."[23] A day after the murder, there was a demonstration and memorial consisting of 500 people in Moscow as well as 300 people gathering in St. Petersburg. Further rallies and vigils took place in other Russian cities, including St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Saratov and Krasnoyarsk, as well as London, Paris, New York, and Washington.[24]

Over 1,000 people (later estimated at over 3,000) gathered at the Russian embassy in Helsinki, Finland to pay their respects to Politkovskaya. The demonstration was silent, and people held candles. Two of Politkovskaya's books have been published in Finland as translated editions.[25]

On 10 October 2006, 2,000 demonstrators called Putin a "murderer" during his visit to Dresden, Germany.[26][27][28] Putin replied:

"This journalist was indeed a sharp critic of the present Russian authorities...but the degree of her influence over political life in Russia was extremely insignificant. She was well-known in journalistic circles, among human rights activists, in the West. I repeat, her influence over political life in Russia was minimal.[29] And in my opinion murdering such a person certainly does much greater damage from the authorities' point of view, authorities that she strongly criticized, than her publications ever did."[30][31][32]
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Politkovskaya's assassination was discussed by the media in connection with the deaths of other critics of Putin,[33] including her colleague from Novaya Gazeta Yuri Shchekochikhin,[34][35] Russian Duma members Galina Starovoitova and Sergei Yushenkov, and journalist Artyom Borovik:[36]

  • A week after the assassination, Alexander Litvinenko accused Putin of sanctioning the murder. Two weeks after this statement, Litvinenko was poisoned with radioactive polonium. Two days before his death on 24 November 2006, he wrote a statement, in case he "does not make it". He said:
"Name the bastard. Anna Politkovskaya did not do it, so I will, for both of us.[37]: 328  You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life. May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people".
According to some reports, Litvinenko tried to investigate Politkovskaya's death.[38][39] He was also writing a book about FSB activities including concentration camps in Chechnya. In that regard, he had frequent contacts with Politkovskaya.[40] Litvinenko's poisoning was remarkably similar to the thallium poisoning of KGB defector Nikolai Khokhlov,[41] whom Politkovskaya had interviewed for Novaya Gazeta.[42]
  • On 18 November 2006, former pro-government Chechen commander and FSB officer Movladi Baisarov was shot dead in Moscow. Allegedly, Baisarov intended to give evidence that proved his political opponents' guilt of kidnapping and murder, and give testimony about Politkovskaya's assassination. Novaya Gazeta was preparing a publication linking Baisarov's murder with that of Anna Politkovskaya. Journalist Vyacheslav Izmailov, who worked closely with Politkovskaya on her stories about human rights abuses in Chechnya, said former Grozny Mayor Beslan Gantamirov had come to Novaya Gazeta's offices two weeks after she was murdered and said armed men close to Ramzan Kadyrov had been sent to Moscow with orders to kill three people: Politkovskaya, Baisarov and Gantamirov.[43][44]
  • On 20 November 2006, former KGB officer Oleg Gordievsky asserted that the murders of Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, Yuri Shchekochikhin, Politkovskaya, Litvinenko and others meant that FSB had returned to the old KGB practice of government-ordered political assassinations.[45][46] Gordievsky was poisoned (but survived) in November 2007, allegedly by a Russian agent.[47]
  • On 24 November 2006, the day of Litvinenko's death, Russian economist and politician Yegor Gaidar alleged he was poisoned after drinking a cup of tea.[48]

Many commentators have noted that she was killed on Putin's birthday. Historian Yuri Felshtinsky and political scientist Vladimir Pribylovsky commented that none of the official suspects had personal motives to kill Politkovskaya.[18]: 482 

Case developments

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First arrests and official announcements

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In late August 2007, police arrested ten suspects believed to have been involved in Politkovskaya's murder. Russia's Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika stated that the plotters' aim was to start a crisis to destabilise Russia. The suspects included members of a Chechen organized crime group, as well as several former FSB agents.[49]

On 28 August 2007, Chaika met Putin and FSB director Nikolai Patrushev, during which he made an official announcement:

"Our investigation has led us to conclude that only people living abroad could be interested in killing Politkovskaya...Forces interested in de-stabilising the country, in stoking crisis...in discrediting the national leadership, provoking external pressure on the country, could be interested in this crime. Anna Politkovskaya knew who ordered her killing. She met him more than once."[50]

Chaika also said that Politkovskaya's killers were probably connected with the murders of Central Bank deputy chairman Andrei Kozlov and American journalist Paul Khlebnikov.[51] The person noted by Chaika as organizer of the murder was identified in the media as Boris Berezovsky.[51] Chaika's statement was supported by Andrei Lugovoi, who had been indicted by a British court with regard to the Alexander Litvinenko poisoning. Lugovoi said Berezovsky had organized the murders of Politkovskaya and Litvinenko, and the attempted murder of Yelena Tregubova.[52]

Suspected killer identified

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On 28 March 2008, it was reported that the suspected killer of journalist Anna Politkovskaya had been identified[53] as 30-year-old Chechen Rustam Makhmudov, a brother of Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudov, who have been suspected of complicity in the murder.[54][55]

On 3 April 2008, Investigating Committee of the Persecution Office of Russia Dmitry Dovgy[56] told the press that he is convinced that "Politkovskaya's murder was masterminded by Boris Berezovsky[57] and carried out by Khozh-Ahmed Noukhayev".[citation needed] Dovgy said that the murder was aimed at undermining confidence in law and order in Russia. He said the organizers [of Politkovskaya's murder] "wanted to show that well-known people can be killed here in broad daylight, the law enforcement agencies seemingly unable to solve such crimes". Berezovsky dismissed the accusations in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio. "This is another attempt to distract the investigation from searching for the real person behind the murder", he said.

On 4 April 2008, Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that all suspects in the case were members of Russian special services, and someone in the government was protecting the killers by openly disclosing the secret materials of the investigation.[58] The report discussed the involvement of Nukayev who allegedly also organized the assassination of Paul Khlebnikov. According to this publication, the traces of the killers lead to the gang of Maxim Lazovsky,[58] a former FSB officer who allegedly organized a bombing in Moscow in 1994, and was later involved in the 1999 Russian apartment bombings.[18]: 479–482 

On 18 June 2008, the investigating committee at the Moscow prosecutor general's office announced that the preliminary investigation had concluded, and three people, Sergey Khadzhikurbanov, Dzhabrail Makhmudov and Ibragim Makhmudov, were set to stand trial for murder. Another suspect, Pavel Ryaguzov, was charged with lesser offenses, including abuse of office and extortion.[59] Colleagues who were close to Politkovskaya at Novaya Gazeta considered the mystery far from over. The deputy editor of Novaya Gazeta magazine, Sergey Sokolov, said: "The investigation is finished in regards to only the three people in question. But as for other people involved – the ones who have been identified and those who are still to be identified, like the killer and the person who ordered the murder – they are set apart into a separate group. The investigation will be continued." Russian prosecutors said their investigation against Rustam Makhmudov, who they alleged had shot Politkovskaya a month before, was ongoing.[59]

On 1 July 2008, Russia's chief investigator Alexander Bastrykin confirmed that Rustam Makhmudov, the man believed by authorities to have fired the fatal shot, was hiding in western Europe. Bastrykin did not publicly identify the specific country, but said it was known by Russian authorities. Unconfirmed Russian media reports suggested that Moscow had requested Makhmudov's extradition from Belgium.[60] At the end of May 2011, Makhmudov was arrested in Chechnya.[61]

Other arrests

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On 16 July 2012, Russian officials announced that a former police officer, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a lieutenant colonel in the police when Politkovskaya had been assassinated, was charged with planning the murder of Politkovskaya.[62]

Trial

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On 2 October 2008, the case against Khadzhikurbanov and Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov was sent to court by the prosecutors.[63]

On 25 November 2008, it was reported that the murder was ordered by a Russian politician. The defence lawyer representing the four men charged over Politkovskaya's murder told reporters that the unnamed politician, based in Russia, was mentioned in the case files.

The deputy Editor-in-chief editor of Novaya Gazeta Sergei Sokolov publicly asserted in court that the suspected hitman Rustam Makhmudov had been wanted for other crimes by the police since 1998, but had been protected by the Russian domestic secret service (FSB) and, personally, by FSB Colonel Pavel Ryaguzov who provided him with a forged passport. Ryaguzov was another suspect in the case. An attorney for Ryaguzov objected to this disclosure on the grounds that the alleged connections of Makmudov with the FSB represent a "state secret".[64]

On 19 February 2009 the trial ended with the unanimous jury acquittal of Dzhabrail Makhmudov, Ibragim Makhmudov, and Sergei Khadzhikurbanov. The prosecutor Vera Pashkovskaya stated that the verdict would be appealed.[65]

Commenting on the end of the trial, Andrew McIntosh, Chairman of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly's Sub-Committee on the Media and Rapporteur on media freedom, expressed his deep frustration at the lack of progress in investigating the murder of Anna Politkovskaya on 7 October 2006 and the inability of the Russian authorities to find her killers: "Two years ago, in its Resolution 1535 (2007), the Assembly called on the Russian Parliament to closely monitor the progress in the criminal investigations regarding the murder of Anna Politkovskaya and hold the authorities accountable for any failures to investigate or prosecute. The closure of the trial yesterday can only be regarded as a blatant failure. I call on the Russian authorities and Parliament to relaunch a proper investigation and shed light on this murder, which undermines not only freedom of expression in Russia, but also its democratic foundation based on the rule of law. There are no excuses for these flawed investigations into murders of politically critical journalists writing against corruption and crime within government, such as the murders of Georgy Gongadze in Ukraine in 2000 and Paul Klebnikov in Moscow in 2004."[66]

The BBC comment on the trial's failure said: "The alleged killer was somehow tipped off and was able to flee the country. And it has never emerged why Anna Politkovskaya had been under surveillance by the FSB for at least two months before her murder. Very quickly the investigation ground to a halt. As soon as it became clear that the FSB was involved, a veil of secrecy descended."[67]

Retrial

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On 25 June 2009, the Supreme Court overturned the not guilty verdicts and ordered a retrial for three men on charges related to her murder.[68]

In December 2012 former police officer Dmitry Pavliutchenkov was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison for the murder in a special bargain deal for providing evidence against those who ordered the killing. He did not actually name any person(s) who hired him to commit the murder, prompting Politkovskaya's family to call for a longer sentence.[69]

In June 2014 five men were sentenced to prison for the murder, two of them receiving life sentences.[70]: A8 

On 14 November 2023, it was reported that Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, one of five people jailed for Politkovskaya's death, received a presidential pardon after accepting and finishing a contract to fight in Ukraine as part of Russia's invasion. However, his lawyer said that he was still in Ukraine, having signed another contract to fight there as a volunteer.[71]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Solovieva, Daria (31 October 2006). Politkovskaya's Death, Other Killings, Raise Questions About Russian Democracy. World Politics Review (Report). OCLC 801062019. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Anna Politkovskaya: Putin's Russia". BBC News. 9 October 2006. Archived from the original on 7 November 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  3. ^ — (4 September 2004). "Poisoned by Putin". The Guardian. eISSN 1756-3224. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Anna Politkovskaia (biography)". Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage. 2003. Archived from the original on 12 October 2003. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  5. ^ — (13 October 2006). Reide, Vera (ed.). "Ana Politkovskaya's last article: Punitive agreement". interlocks.net. Translated by Haun, Agatha. Archived from the original on 8 December 2007.
  6. ^ "Journalist reportedly poisoned en route to hostage negotiations, another journalist detained at Moscow airport". IFEX (Press release). Committee to Protect Journalists. 3 September 2004. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2022. The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that prominent Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was poisoned last night en route to Beslan, North Ossetia, where about 40 heavily armed fighters, reportedly of Chechen and Ingush origin, seized hostages at an elementary school yesterday.
  7. ^ Sixsmith, Martin (8 April 2007). "The Laboratory 12 poison plot". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2022. The sophisticated planning behind the plot and the evidence of the poison factory strongly suggested an FSB-style operation.
  8. ^ "Trois journalistes tués le jour de l'inauguration à Bayeux du Mémorial des reporters" [Three journalists killed on the day of the inauguration in Bayeux of the Reporters' Memorial]. Reporters sans frontières (Press release) (in French). 10 July 2006. Archived from the original on 29 October 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2022. Anna Politkovskaya avait participé, en décembre 2005, à une conférence sur la liberté de la presse organisée à Vienne par Reporters sans frontières. Elle avait déclaré ce jour-là dans son allocution : « Des gens paient parfois de leur vie pour avoir dit tout haut ce qu'ils pensent. On peut même être tué rien que pour m'avoir transmis des informations. Je ne suis pas la seule à être en danger. J'ai des exemples qui le prouvent. » [Anna Politkovskaya took part, in December 2005, in a conference on freedom of the press organized in Vienna by Reporters Without Borders. She said that day in her speech: "People sometimes pay with their lives for saying out loud what they think. You can even be killed just for giving me information. I'm not the only one in danger. I have examples that prove it."]
  9. ^ Meek, James (14 October 2004). "Dispatches from a savage war". The Guardian. eISSN 1756-3224. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022. In between, she has experienced countless death threats from Russian troops, Chechen fighters and the other, more shadowy armed groups operating in the margins of the war. The kidnappings, extrajudicial killings, disappearances, rapes and tortures she has reported on in Chechnya have left her convinced that Putin's policies are engendering the terrorists they are supposed to eliminate.
  10. ^ — (15 October 2006). "Her Own Death, Foretold". Opinions. The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 2269358. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  11. ^ Kachkaeva, Anna (12 April 2006). Ирина Хакамада о партийном строительстве и экономической ситуации в России [Irina Khakamada on party building and the economic situation in Russia]. Свобода [Svoboda] (in Russian). ISSN 0274-6964. OCLC 1766932. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2022. Ирина Хакамада: Ну, царство ему небесное, не хочется вообще отыгрываться на этом убийстве, потому что очень темная история, никто ничего понять не может. Я не люблю такие истории комментировать. Единственное, что, действительно, я сама тоже посмотрела Интернет и сама убедилась: он на пресс-конференции заявил о том, что я была подругой Анны Политковской и передавала угрозы ее жизни, исходя из источника в Кремле. Поскольку я часто посещала Кремль, то я обладала такой информация. Приблизительно так это было сказано. [Irina Khakamada: Well, God rest his soul, I don’t want to take revenge on this murder at all, because it’s a very dark story, no one can understand anything. I do not like to comment on such stories. The only thing that, indeed, I myself also looked at the Internet and was convinced for myself: at a press conference, he said that I was a friend of Anna Politkovskaya and transmitted threats to her life, based on a source in the Kremlin. Since I often visited the Kremlin, I had such information. That's pretty much how it was said.]
  12. ^ Berezovsky, Boris (11 June 2006). В прямом эфире «Эхо Москвы» Борис Брезовский [Live "Echo of Moscow" Boris Brezovsky]. Echo of Moscow (Interview) (in Russian). Interviewed by Yevgenia Albats. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2022. Немцов сказал, что ему пришел ясный… ясное… ясный сигнал от Хакамады, которая сказала, что ей Путин лично сказал, что если они откроют рот по поводу взрывов жилых домов в Москве, то они получат по башке немедленно. И не в переносном, а в прямом смысле. И вот это, конечно, меня еще раз убедило в абсолютной своей правоте — что да, взрывы были организованы спецслужбами РФ. [Nemtsov said that he received a clear ... clear ... clear signal from Khakamada, who said that Putin personally told her, that if they open their mouths about the explosions of residential buildings in Moscow, they will get hit in the head immediately. And not figuratively, but literally. And this, of course, once again convinced me that I was absolutely right - that yes, the explosions were organized by the special services of the Russian Federation.]
  13. ^ Убита Анна Политковская [Anna Politkovskaya was killed]. Lenta.ru (in Russian). 7 October 2006. Archived from the original on 12 February 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2022. В Москве в подъезде собственного дома на улице Лесной убита известный журналист Анна Политковская [Well-known journalist Anna Politkovskaya was killed in the entrance of her own house on Lesnaya Street in Moscow.]
  14. ^ a b "Chechen war reporter found dead". BBC News. 7 October 2006. Archived from the original on 7 December 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2022. Vitaly Yaroshevsky, deputy editor of the newspaper, believes she was killed because of her work. [...] "The first thing that comes to mind is that Anna was killed for her professional activities. We don't see any other motive for this terrible crime," he told the Reuters news agency.
  15. ^ Zheglov, Alexander; Akhundov, Alek; Allenova, Olga; Mashkin, Sergey (9 October 2006). "Journalist Gives Her Life for Her Profession". Kommersant. eISSN 1563-6380. ISSN 1561-347X. OCLC 244126120. Archived from the original on 30 November 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  16. ^ Anna Politkovskaya (1958 - 2006). n.d. Archived from the original on 13 January 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ^ Parfitt, Tom (9 October 2009). "The only good journalist ..." eISSN 1756-3224. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022. For many, the fact that Politkovskaya was assassinated on Putin's birthday, and two days after Kadyrov's 30th birthday celebrations, raised suspicions that a henchman of one or both had served up the contract hit as an unasked-for present.
  18. ^ a b c Felshtinsky, Yuri; Pribylovsky, Vladimir (16 February 2009). "11. The Age of Assassins". The Corporation: Russia and the KGB in the Age of President Putin (First American ed.). Encounter Books. pp. 479–482. ISBN 978-1594032462. LCCN 2008042258. OCLC 232982901. OL 22552592M. Retrieved 10 October 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  19. ^ Volodarsky, Boris (8 February 2010). "Dead Souls: From Stalin to Putin". KGB's Poison Factory: From Lenin to Litvinenko (First ed.). The Quarto Group. p. 251. ISBN 978-0760337530. LCCN 2009042348. OCLC 308175992. OL 24408680M. Retrieved 10 October 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ "Thousands mourn Russian journalist". Reuters. 10 October 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2006. [dead link‍]
  21. ^ New and Old Ramzan (Russian), RFE/RL, Partial English translation
  22. ^ "500 people rally in Moscow to protest journalist's murder, crackdown on Georgians". International Herald Tribune. Moscow. Associated Press. 8 October 2006. ISSN 0294-8052. Archived from the original on 27 November 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2022. Hundreds rallied in downtown Moscow on Sunday to protest the murder of crusading journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the Russian crackdown on Georgians.
  23. ^ МНОГОЧИСЛЕННАЯ АКЦИЯ ПАМЯТИ АННЫ ПОЛИТКОВСКОЙ ПРОШЛА В ЦЕНТРЕ МОСКВЫ НА ПУШКИНСКОЙ ПЛОЩАДИ. [Numerous Action In Memory Of Anna Politkovskaya Was Held In The Center Of Moscow On Pushkin Square]. Echo of Moscow (in Russian). 8 October 2006. Archived from the original on 21 October 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  24. ^ "Ingush Police Break Up Rally Honoring Politkovskaya". 19 October 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
  25. ^ "More than 1,000 attend vigil for murdered Russian journalist". Helsingin Sanomat (International ed.). 28 October 2006. OCLC 53964279. Archived from the original on 28 October 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2022. A crowd of more than a thousand people gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Helsinki on Sunday night in a peaceful candlelit demonstration arranged by the Finnish branch of PEN, the worldwide association of writers. [...] The people had come at short notice to honour the memory of the Russian writer and journalist Anna Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of the country's policies in Chechnya, who was murdered in Moscow on Saturday. [...] Tehtaankatu, the street on which the Russian Embassy is located, filled up at around 7 p.m. on Sunday night with grieving people carrying candles. Groups of friends and family members spoke in quiet tones one with another, if at all. There were no shouted slogans at what was a spare and deeply moving ceremony.
  26. ^ "Deutschland-Besuch: Putin mit "Mörder, Mörder"-Rufen empfangen" [Visit to Germany: Putin welcomed with "murderer, murderer" calls]. Die Welt (in German). Reuters/AFP. 10 October 2006. ISSN 0173-8437. LCCN sn90048296. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2022. Als die Wagenkolonne des Präsidenten in der Dresdner Altstadt vor dem Schloss eintraf und Putin ausstieg, schallten ihm auch „Mörder, Mörder"-Rufe entgegen. Ein Demonstrant hielt zudem ein Pappschild mit der Aufschrift in die Luft: „Mörder - du bist hier nicht mehr willkommen". [...] In Moskau war am Samstag die regierungskritische Journalistin Anna Politkowskaja ermordet worden. Die auch von der Bundesregierung scharf verurteilte Tat überschattet den Deutschlandbesuch Putins, dessen Regierung wiederholt wegen ihrer Einflussnahme auf die Medien in die Kritik geraten ist. [When the president's motorcade arrived in Dresden's old town in front of the palace and Putin got out, he was greeted with shouts of "murderer, murderer." A demonstrator also held up a cardboard sign that read: "Murderer - you are no longer welcome here". [...] The government-critical journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered in Moscow on Saturday. The act, which was also sharply condemned by the federal government, overshadows Putin's visit to Germany, whose government has repeatedly come under criticism for its influence on the media.]
  27. ^ "Putin in Dresden mit "Mörder"-Rufen empfangen". Der Spiegel (in German). 10 October 2006. Archived from the original on 16 October 2006. Retrieved 11 October 2006.
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  29. ^ "Chechnya: Politkovskaya Mourned As 'Last Hope'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Moscow. 11 October 2006. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  30. ^ Putin, Vladimir (10 October 2006). Speech at the St Petersburg Dialogue Social Forum (Speech). Meetings with Representatives of various Communities. Presidential Administration of Russia. Munich. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2022. With regards to the murder of the journalist Anna Politkovskaia, then I have already said and I can say once again that this is a disgusting crime. To kill not only a journalist but also a woman and a mother. And the experts know well – Ms Chaplin is sitting here and I think that she will confirm this as well – that perhaps because Ms Politkovskaia held very radical views she did not have a serious influence on the political mood in our country. But she was very well-known in journalistic circles and in human rights circles. And in my opinion murdering such a person certainly does much greater damage from the authorities' point of view, authorities that she strongly criticized, than her publications ever did.
  31. ^ "Mourners pay homage to slain journalist". Centre Daily Times. Associated Press. 10 October 2006. ISSN 0745-483X. OCLC 61312383. Retrieved 10 October 2006. [dead link‍]
  32. ^ Kolesnikov, Andrey (11 October 2006). "Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel Work Together". Kommersant. eISSN 1563-6380. ISSN 1561-347X. OCLC 244126120. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2022. Merkel began by expressing her shock at the recent murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow. "The Russian president has promised me that everything possible will be done to solve that murder," she added. [...] Putin also commented on the murder. "Whoever committed that murder," he said in what sounded like a statement prepared in advance, "and whatever motivated it, we should acknowledge that the crime was abominable in its cruelty." Politkovskaya was a critic of the authorities, he noted, and her influence should not be overestimated. "It was minimal," he concluded. "She was known among journalists and in human rights circles and in the West, but I repeat that she had no influence on political life. Her murder causes much more harm than her publications did. Whoever did it will be punished." [...] Two hours later, at the session of the St. Petersburg Dialog, the subject arose again. "Those people who are hiding from Russian justice are willing to sacrifice anyone to create a wave of anti-Russian feeling," Putin said. [...] Then the two leaders turned to what really interested them, the Stockman deposit.
  33. ^ Specter, Michael (29 January 2007). "Kremlin, Inc.: Why are Vladimir Putin's opponents dying?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. OCLC 320541675. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
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  51. ^ a b Russia: Politkovskaya's Colleagues Dispute Official Investigation, By Brian Whitmore, RFE/RL, 28 August 2007
  52. ^ Berezovsky Masterminded Murders of Politkovskaya, Litvinenko, Tregubova, Lugovoy Said 29 August 2007
  53. ^ Politkovskaya killer 'identified' BBC News. Retrieved 28 March 2008
  54. ^ "all measures are being taken to find and detain him". Генпрокуратура знает, кто стрелял в Политковскую. По нашим данным, киллером может быть 30-летний чеченец Рустам Махмудов Komsomolskaya Pravda 29 March 2007
  55. ^ Vladimir Isachenkov (31 May 2011). "Rustam Makhmudov". HuffPost.
  56. ^ see (in Russian) Уголовный процесс по перестрелке на Рочдельской улице [ru]
  57. ^ Главный следователь СКП назвал Березовского заказчиком убийства Политковской [The chief investigator of the Investigative Committee called Berezovsky the customer of the murder of Politkovskaya]. Lenta.ru (in Russian). 3 April 2008. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2022. Отвечая на вопрос "Известий" о заказчике убийства Политковской, Довгий сказал: "Глубочайшее наше убеждение, что это Борис Абрамович Березовский - через Хож-Ахмеда Нухаева. На тот момент ему выгодно было поступить так". [Answering a question from Izvestia about the person who ordered the murder of Politkovskaya, Dovgy said: "Our deepest conviction that this is Boris Abramovich Berezovsky is through Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev . At that time, it was profitable for him to do so."]
  58. ^ a b Agents of special services are among organizers of Politkovskaya assassination. However someone protects them by disclosing secret materials of the criminal case Archived 9 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine by Sergei Sokolov, 6 April 2008
  59. ^ a b Russia charges 3 men in Politkovskaya murder Reuters. Retrieved 18 June 2008
  60. ^ "Politkovskaya suspect 'in Europe'". BBC News. 1 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022. The head of Russia's Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, did not publicly identify the country where he believes Mr Makhmudov is hiding but said it was known by the Russian authorities. [...] Unconfirmed Russian media reports suggest that Moscow has requested Mr Makhmudov's extradition from Belgium.
  61. ^ "Anna Politkovskaya murder suspect arrested in Chechnya". BBC News. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022. The man suspected of shooting Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 has been arrested in Chechnya and is due to be brought to Moscow. [...] Rustam Makhmudov was arrested overnight at his parents' home, his lawyer told AFP news agency.
  62. ^ Walker, Shaun (17 July 2012). "Another arrest – but will we ever know who wanted Anna Politkovskaya dead?". The Independent. Moscow. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  63. ^ Politkovskaya murder case sent to court Gazeta.ru. Retrieved 2 October 2008
  64. ^ Код доступа [Access code]. Echo of Moscow (Interview) (in Russian). Interviewed by Yulia Latynina. 6 December 2006. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022. Самое удивительное, что было на этой неделе – это показания Сергея Соколова, зама главного редактора «Новой газеты», который встал и сказал, что предполагаемый убийца Политковской Рустам Махмудов был объявлен в розыск еще в 1998 году, после этого ему изготовили фальшивый паспорт, и с этим фальшивым паспортом и со своим, видимо, куратором Павлом Рягузовым, подполковником ФСБ, он летал в Ростов на опознание какого-то там чеченца – чеченца задержали, надо было его опознать. Что тут началось! После того, как Соколов это сказал, Рягузов начал из своей клетки кричать: «Да вы понимаете, что вы говорите!». Потом встала адвокатша Рягузова, сказала, что если это было так, то это разглашение гостайны, и если Соколов услышал гостайну, то он первым делом должен был написать заявление на того, кто услышал гостайну. [The most surprising thing that happened this week was the testimony of Sergei Sokolov, deputy editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, who stood up and said that the alleged killer of Politkovskaya Rustam Makhmudov was put on the wanted list back in 1998, after which a false passport was made for him, and with this false passport and with his, apparently, curator Pavel Ryaguzov, lieutenant colonel of the FSB, he flew to Rostov to identify some Chechen there - the Chechen was detained, it was necessary to identify him. What started here! After Sokolov said this, Ryaguzov began to shout from his cell: “Yes, you understand what you are saying!”. Then the lawyer Ryaguzova stood up and said that if this was so, then this was the disclosure of state secrets, and if Sokolov heard the state secret, then the first thing he had to do was write a statement against the one who heard the state secret.]
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Further reading

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