Politkovskaya’s murder anniversary renews focus on Russia’s press freedoms
On the 20th anniversary of her killing, former Novaya Gazeta editor Sergei Sokolov says Anna Politkovskaya’s work foresaw Russia’s direction under Vladimir Putin. Those who ordered her murder remain unidentified.
Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building on 7 October 2006. Two decades later, her former editor Sergei Sokolov says her books anticipated Russia’s trajectory under President Vladimir Putin, though her warnings were dismissed at the time as exaggerated.
Reporting on the Chechen wars and Putin’s rise, Politkovskaya warned of authoritarianism. She covered abuses by Russian forces and Chechen rebels, and urged both sides to evacuate civilians. In 2002, she entered a Moscow theatre seized by Chechen rebels in an attempt to secure the release of hostages.
The gunmen convicted in her killing are imprisoned. The person or people who ordered the murder have never been identified.
Sokolov told France 24 that Politkovskaya would not have been able to remain silent about Russia’s current direction. He described her persistence as central to her journalism.
The report says years of pressure have left independent Russian journalism under severe strain, with many investigative reporters working in exile. Exiled journalists Olga Churakova and Yegor Feoktistov described Politkovskaya as an inspiration to a new generation of reporters.
