Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko
Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (
Russian: Анна Степановна Политковская;
30 August 1958 –
7 October 2006) was a
Russian journalist and
human rights activist well known for her opposition to the
Chechen conflict and Russian president
Putin.
[1][2]Politkovskaya made her name reporting from lawless
Chechnya, where many journalists and humanitarian workers have been kidnapped or killed. She was arrested and subjected to
mock execution by Russian military forces there, and she was poisoned on the way to
Beslan, but survived and continued her reporting. She authored several books about Chechen wars and
Putin's Russia and received numerous prestigious international awards for her work.
She was shot dead in the elevator of her apartment building on
October 7,
2006, the birthday of
Vladimir Putin, who was publicly accused by
Alexander Litvinenko of ordering her murder. Litvinenko subsequently died from
poisoning by radioactive polonium.
According to President Vladimir Putin and Prosecutor-General
Yury Chaika the murder could have been organized by certain figures outside Russia (apparently meaning Putin's opponent
Boris Berezovsky) who wished to undermine the Russian state.
By now over 10 people have been arrested within the scope of the official investigation; however, no organiser's name has yet been officially