Flowers and memorial posters were brought to Politkovskaya's house on the 20th anniversary of her murder.
An impromptu memorial appeared in Moscow at the house where journalist Anna Politkovskaya lived, on the 20th anniversary of her murder. People who brought flowers said they came to show respect for Politkovskaya's memory and demonstrate journalistic solidarity.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on the 20th anniversary of journalist Anna Politkovskaya's murder, memorial events took place in Moscow near the house where she lived and was shot. Police were on duty nearby, called by dissatisfied residents. Some of those convicted in Politkovskaya's murder case have already been released, and the customer has not yet been convicted, colleagues of the murdered journalist reminded a year earlier.
Anna Politkovskaya, known for her articles on the war and human rights violations in Chechnya, was killed in Moscow on October 7, 2006. The court found that the murder was organized by Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, who was sentenced to life imprisonment. The direct executor was identified as Rustam Makhmudov, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Murder of Anna Politkovskaya".
On October 7, on the 20th anniversary of journalist Anna Politkovskaya's murder, an impromptu memorial arose at the entrance of the building on Lesnaya Street in Moscow, where she lived and was killed.
Initially, it included a memorial plaque installed by "Yabloko" activists stating "In this house lived and worked journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Killed on October 7, 2026" and a photograph of the journalist with a QR code link to a website dedicated to Politkovskaya placed in the corner.
The correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" observed how people approached the memorial for several hours – both individuals and entire groups (the largest was a company of eight boys and girls). Some simply photographed the memorial, while others laid flowers (one girl laid white carnations, as red ones, she told her friends, had run out at the nearest flower shop). One young man brought a green apple.
Those who came to the memorial spoke differently about their motives. One of the girls who brought flowers stated that she did so because she "respects" A. Politkovskaya very much. Another said she was a journalist and came "in journalistic solidarity". Young people stated that they simply "wanted" to lay flowers.
Press secretary of "Novaya Gazeta" (listed as a foreign agent) Nadezhda Prusenkova commented to "Caucasian Knot" that the situation with the plaque "should be resolved by the residents of the house". She also stated that the editorial office currently has no information about the whereabouts of one of the organizers of the murder - Sergey Khadzhikurbanov, released from prison and sent to the SVO zone.
Recall that on January 18, the memorial plaque that had hung for almost 20 years on the wall of the house on Lesnaya Street in Moscow, where Anna Politkovskaya lived and was shot, was broken for the first time. Most of the temporary plaques installed by activists after this lasted less than a day. By March 19, in addition to the memorial plaque, 30 temporary plaques had been installed.
All plaques repeated the original text from the broken memorial plaque: "In this house lived and was villainously killed on October 7, 2006, Anna Politkovskaya". Representatives of an ultra-right organization recognized as terrorist claimed responsibility for the destruction of the first plaque. The man who broke the memorial plaque was fined 1000 rubles, while he denied guilt, claiming that the plaque "fell and broke by itself".
In January, one of the residents of the house admitted that she destroyed the temporary plaque. "Yes, I break it! Who allowed you to hang it? She didn't live here, she had a secret apartment! This is my house! I didn't give permission!" - she said. At the same time, the woman noted that she did not break the original memorial plaque, but the plaque "always bothered her".
The last interview Anna Politkovskaya gave to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" an hour and a half before her death. In this interview, the journalist commented on the career prospects of Ramzan Kadyrov .
On the fifth anniversary of Politkovskaya's murder, journalists and human rights activists at an event in Tbilisi emphasized her contribution to the fight for freedom of speech, demanding to name the customers of her murder.
"Caucasian Knot" publishes materials dedicated to Politkovskaya on the thematic page "Politkovskaya and Estemirova", which collects materials about Anna's friend, journalist and human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, who was killed in 2009 and also dealt with the problems of Chechen residents.
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