Anna Politkovskaya or the murdered truth
Anna Politkovskaya spoke softly and calmly when she spoke of horrors in Chechnya and the silence policy imposed on journalists on many taboo topics in Russia. His writing was a reflection of his quest for truth: precise, well-argued, supported by concrete facts. When asked about her stainless courage and honesty, when she was the only journalist to continue to visit Chechnyashe said sadly, "I know, insecurity is part of my life, but you know, people were killed for giving me information."
Mediator during the taking of hostages of the theater of Doubrovka
Since 1999, she worked for the biweekly Novaya Gazeta (172,000 copies). It is today the only independent newspaper in Russia, in a media landscape totally locked by power. In addition to Chechnya, Anna Politkovskaya denounced the corruption and enrichment of the oligarchs at the expense of the Russian population.
In 2002, during the taking of hostages of the theater of Doubrovka, she spontaneously plays a role of intermediary because a friend of his relatives is among the eight hundred hostages blocked inside by Chechen commandos. She will tell in "Russia according to Putin" (ed Buchet-Chastel, 2005) the catastrophic management of this hostage taking that will result in the sending of special units to gas the theater. Official report: 128 dead.
"Warnings" multiply
On 1 September 2004, while attempting to reach the Beslan (North Ossetia) schoolchildren's hostage-taking hostel for mediation, she is the victim of an attempt to poison her on board. 'plane. She is hospitalized urgently for an "acute intestinal infection" but her medical tests disappear. She had managed to negotiate the arrival of President Aslan Maskhadov at the school, two hours before the assault that will cause 344 deaths.
Very quickly, she and her colleagues make the connection between this poisoning and the suspicious death of Yuri Shchekochikhin, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta and Democratic deputy, victim in July 2003 of a strange allergy and whose medical analyzes had also disappeared mysteriously.
Shortly after Beslan, the Kremlin demands the dismissal of the journalist in exchange for the return of advertising in the columns of the biweekly. Its editor, Dmitry Muratov, refuses bravely.
This flirtatious woman had also experienced the experience of physical violence in Chechnya and suffered a mock execution during one of his many reports on the spot.
Who killed Anna Politkovskaya ?
Several tracks are mentioned: that of Ramzan Kadyrov, the straw man of President Putin and current Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya, or one of his opponents. Eyes are also turning to circles of power surrounding Vladimir Putin, although the former KGB colonel denies any involvement in the assassination, carefully downplaying the role of the journalist in Russian political life. The name ofAnna Politkovskaya also appeared on Internet lists of "enemies of the people to be eliminated" by ultranationalist small groups.
Relatives of the journalist doubt that one day finds his killer, yet filmed by a surveillance camera, because the floor is very obedient in Russia. The Novaya Gazeta editorial team decided to conduct its own investigation and the two shareholders of the newspaper, Mikhail Gorbachev and MP Alexander Lebedev, promised nearly a million dollars to anyone who would give information about the killer.
Foreign friends and supporters ofAnna Politkovskaya thought that the international reputation of the journalist was her best shield. Unfortunately, we are all mistaken.
