Putin critic's murder remembered 20 years on | NHK WORLD

Putin critic's murder remembered 20 years on

Wednesday marked 20 years since the murder of a Russian journalist whose death came to symbolize the killings of critics of President Vladimir Putin that followed.

Anna Politkovskaya, who was a reporter for the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was shot dead in her apartment building in Moscow in 2006.

She had reported on human rights abuses committed by Russian forces during the conflict over Chechnya's bid for independence.

To mark the anniversary, photographs of Politkovskaya were displayed outside the apartment building and people were seen laying flowers in her memory.

A man who had known the journalist said, "Her goal was to save people caught up in the turmoil of war." He added that he is concerned about people losing their lives in wars today.

A 22-year-old man said he learned that "she was a very brave person and was never afraid to speak the truth." He said he is sure that a part of her lives on in everyone.

A former colleague of Politkovskaya, Dmitry Muratov, who served as the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta for many years, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.