Russia's MoJ puts Zherebtsova's letter to Khodorkovsky on list of extremist materials

A letter by Polina Zherebtsova, the author of the child's diary about life in Grozny at war, to Mikhail Khodorkovsky in connection with his statements on Chechnya, was put by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Russia on the list of extremist materials.

Polina Zherebtsova, who survived two Chechen wars, was forced to leave Russia in peacetime. On October 26, 2011, her first book was presented – "Diary of Zherebtsova Polina". The book tells about the events of 1999-2002 in Grozny during the second Chechen war, as they were seen by the teenager. In 2013, because of threats addressed to her after the release of her first book, Polina Zherebtsova emigrated to Finland. On May 30, 2014, in Moscow, the presentation of the second book by Polina Zherebtsova took place – "Ant in Glass Jar. Chechen Diary of 1994-2004".

On July 6, the document entitled "Letter of Russian Political Refugee Polina Zherebtsova to Mikhail Khodorkovsky" was put on the federal list of extremist materials on the website of the MoJ of Russia under No. 2868. In total, as of July 7, the list contains 2885 materials recognized in Russia as extremist.

The author of the letter states that she was disappointed with the interview, given by the former head of "Yukos" and current leader of the movement "Open Russia" in December 2013. Zherebtsova wrote in her letter about the crimes of federal forces committed against civilians in Chechnya and said that Khodorkovsky's position means his readiness to share responsibility for them, the "Kommersant" reports.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.