What follows is a list of journalists (reporters, editors, cameramen, photographers) who have been killed in Russia since 1992. It includes deaths from all violent, premature and unexplained causes; more information can be found in the English and Russian versions of the IFJ database.[52][53] An indication whether the death is certainly [J], possibly [?J] or most probably not [nJ] linked to the journalist’s investigative work and publications follows each name.
The Yeltsin years
1992
Sergey Bogdanovsky, correspondent of TV “Ostankino”, killed in Moscow.[54]
1993
15 April – Dmitry Krikoryants, correspondent for Express Chronicle weekly (Moscow), murdered in his apartment in the Chechen capital Groznyy, on the night of 14–15 April.[56] Chechnya was then de facto independent. Homicide [J].
1993 Russian constitutional crisis
Sunday, 3 October, from 7.30 pm onwards. Outside and inside the Ostankino TV Tower.[56]
Rory Peck, ARD Germany, cameraman. Crossfire [J].
Ivan Scopan, TF1 France, cameraman. Crossfire [J].
Igor Belozerov, 4th Channel “Ostankino”, editor. Crossfire [J].
Sergey Krasilnikov, “Ostankino” TV, video engineer. Shot at point-blank range within building. Homicide [J].
Vladimir Drobyshev, People and nature monthly, editor. Heart Attack [J].
Monday, 4 October, after midday. near Supreme Soviet building.[56]
Alexander Sidelnikov, freelance journalist and film-maker from Saint Petersburg. Crossfire [J].
Alexander Smirnov, Youth Courier newspaper (Yoshkar-Ola), correspondent. Crossfire [J].
29 November – Elena Tkacheva, 26-year-old proof-reader for Kuban Courier newspaper, died in Krasnodar as a result of a bomb planted in the newspaper office.[56] Terrorist Act [J]
9 December – Marina Iskanderova, journalist at local TV station, murdered in her apartment in Nadym, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.[56] Homicide [nJ].
1994
1 February – Sergei Dubov, director of Novoye vremya publishing house, Moscow. Shot in contract killing.[58] Homicide [nJ].
26 April – Andrey Ayzderdzis, Duma deputy and publisher. Shot in contract killing, in Khimki, Moscow Oblast.[59] Homicide [nJ].
15 June – Yury Soltys, Interfax journalist and editor. Beaten to death in Moscow Oblast.[60] Homicide [?J].
15 October – Tatyana Zhuravlyova and husband, media workers, Komsomolskaya pravda (Samara bureau). Killed in Voronezh Oblast while driving.[61] Homicide. [nJ].
17 July – Yelena Roshchina, chief editor of children’s newspaper, Ivanovo. Murdered in her flat.[62] Homicide. The gang who killed her were tried and convicted in 2000 [nJ].
17 October – Dmitry Kholodov, military correspondent of the Moskovskii Komsomolets newspaper, was killed in Moscow when a booby-trapped briefcase he had collected from a railway station locker exploded in his newspaper’s offices.[63] Homicide. Kholodov’s alleged killers were tried and acquitted twice, once in 2002 and again in 2004 [J].
There were also four deaths in Chechnya after the conflict there began in November.[64]
26 November – Hussein Guzuyev, director of Chechen TV & Radio Company. Grozny. Caught in crossfire between Dudayev supporters and pro-Moscow opposition [J].
14 December – Gelani Charigov, journalist with Marsho private TV company. Grozny. Crossfire [J].
22 December – Cynthia Elbaum, Freelance US photocorrespondent on assignment for Time magazine. Grozny. Crossfire [J].
31 December – Bilal Akhmadov, cameraman for Marsho TV company. Grozny. Crossfire [J].
1995–1996 (including 1st Chechen conflict)
1995
1 January – Vladimir Zhitarenko, correspondent of the Red Star (Krasnaya zvezda) newspaper, Chechnya. Crossfire [J].
1 January – Pyotr Novikov, journalist with Smena magazine, Moscow. Homicide (linked to Anisimov killing in late 1994) [nJ].
7 January – Sultan Nuriyev, Chechnya. Not Confirmed [?J].
10 January – Jochen Piest, correspondent of the Stern magazine. Chervlyonnaya, Chechnya. Crossfire [J].
14 January – Valentin Yanus, cameraman of Pskov city TV channel, Chechnya. Crossfire [J].
17 February – Vyacheslav Rudnev, freelance journalist, Kaluga, published in local Vest and Znamya newspapers. Homicide [?J].
27 February – Maxim Shabalin, politics editor of Nevskoye Vremya newspaper (St Petersburg).[66] and Felix Titov, the paper’s photographer, disappeared on an assignment to Chechnya. Despite numerous expeditions, from 1995 to 1999, no trace was found of the two men’s remains. Missing [J].
1 March – Vladislav Listyev, head of the new ORT TV Channel, shot dead in stairwell of his Moscow apartment block in a contract killing. Homicide [nJ].
3 March – Igor Kaverin, engineer with Svobodnaya Nakhodka radio station, Primorsky Krai. Shot in car, Homicide [nJ].
8 March – Oleg Ochkasov, freelance journalist in Voronezh, writing for Vecherny Voronezh and Skandalnaya pochta newspapers. Homicide [nJ].
16 March – Alexei Khropov, director of Vox radio station, recently off the air. Leningradskoye Highway, Moscow Oblast. Homicide [nJ].
31 March – 23-year-old Ruslan Tsebiyev, Dudayev press service, Grozny, Chechnya. Homicide [?J].
6 May – Malkan Suleimanova, journalist with Ichkeria newspaper (Grozny). Died under bombardment in Shatoi, Chechnya. Crossfire [J].
22 May – Farkhad Kerimov, cameraman with Associated Press TV. Executed in Vedeno, Chechnya. Homicide (war crime)[J].
5 May – Sergei Ivanov, went in search of Shabalin and Titov (above 27 February), south of Chechnya. Missing [J].
6 June – Alexander Konovalenko, journalists with Krestyanskaya gazeta, Volgograd, beating in a police station led to his death.[67] Homicide. Killer convicted in 1998 [?J].
17 June – Natalya Alyakina-Mroszek, Focus magazine (Germany) and other outlets. Shot near Budyonnovsk, Stavropol Krai.[68] Crossfire. Russian soldier found guilty of negligence in use of weapons, amnestied as Chechen war participant [J].
25 July – Andrew Shumack Jr, freelance US photojournalist, St Petersburg Times (Florida). Grozny, Chechnya. Missing [?J].
4 August – Sergei Nazarov, former presenter of popular TV show “Vremechko”. Killed in Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
10 August – Vadim Obekhov, columnist with Vesti newspaper, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Homicide [nJ].
2 November – Andrei Ulanov, chief editor of Togliatti segodnya newspaper. Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. Contract killing, homicide [nJ].
8 November – Sergei Ananyev, head of press service, East Siberian organised crime department. Murdered in Irkutsk. Outcome of 2000 trial not clear [nJ].
12 December – Victor Litvinov, “Golos Rossii” radio station commentator, Moscow, died after street attack.[69] Homicide [nJ].
10 December – 25-year-old Yaroslav Zvaltsev, financial director of the Russky dom newspaper in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, shot in contract killing.[70] Homicide [nJ].
12 December – Shamkhan Kagirov, correspondent of the Vozrozhdenie newspaper, Chechnya. Crossfire [J].
26 December – Vadim Alferyev, worked as journalist for local press and TV in Krasnoyarsk, where he died after a savage beating.[71] Homicide [?J].
1996
25 January – Oleg Slabynko, founder of “Moment Istiny” corporation, producer of a program of the same name, a director of ORT (today Channel One TV), murdered in his Moscow apartment. Contract killing [nJ].
8 February – Yury Litvinov, engineer, and Alexander Zaitsev, director, of Forward cable television.[73] Found shot in car, Dalnegorsk, Primorsky Krai. Contract killing? [nJ].
26 February – Felix Solovyov, famous photographer, Aeroflot journal editorial board, murdered in Moscow.[74] Homicide [nJ].
11 March – Victor Pimenov, cameraman with Vaynakh TV company (Chechnya).[75] Grozny, Chechnya. Crossfire [J].
30 March – Nadezhda Chaikova, investigative journalist for Obshchaya Gazeta, executed in Chechnya, body found near village of Gekhi.[76] Homicide (war crime) [J].
18 April – Anatoly Yagodin, correspondent for Na Boyevom Postu forces newspaper, killed by Chechen militants.[77] Assinovskaya, Chechnya. Crossfire [J].
9 May – Nina Yefimova, correspondent for Vozrozhdeniye newspaper, Chechnya.[75] Grozny, Chechnya. Homicide [J].
11 May – Victor Mikhailov, crime correspondent for Zabaikalsky rabochy newspaper.[73] Chita. Homicide [nJ].
26 July – Nikita Chigarkov, staff member of Utrenniy ekspress, beaten and robbed.[73] Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
1 August – Ivan Gogun, Groznensky rabochy correspondent.[75] Grozny, Chechnya. Crossfire [J].
11 August – Ramzan Khadjiev, ORT correspondent, shot outside checkpoint in Chechnya.[75] Grozny, Chechnya. Crossfire [J].
16 September – En Chan Kim, correspondent for newspapers in Sakhalin and Blagodatnaya Semya magazine.[73] Zhulebino, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
27 October – Anatoly Tyutinkov, assistant chief editor of Vecherniy Peterburg.[73] Incident not confirmed, St Petersburg. [nJ]
29 October – Lev Bogomolov, Kaluga Vechernyaya chief editor,[73] Kaluga. Incident not confirmed [nJ].
31 October – Sergei Semisotov, Editor of Traktir po Pyatnitsam newspaper.[73] Volgograd. Homicide [nJ].
10 November – Marina Gorelova, reporter for Otechestvo TV company[73] and Yury Shmakov, Otechestvo TV consultant.[73] Kotlyakovskoye cemetery, Moscow. Terrorist act. Two convicted in 2003 for 16 deaths, including two journalists, for causing the explosion. [J]
6 December – Kirill Polenov, freelance journalist. Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia. Homicide [nJ].
7 December – Anatoly Belousov, deputy chief editor of Red Star (Krasnaya Zvezda).,[73] Moscow Region. Homicide [nJ].
1997–1999
1997
16 January – Alexei Yeldashov, journalist for local print and radio. Khabarovsk, Primorsky Krai. Homicide [nJ].
16 January – Nikolai Lapin, chief editor “Obo vsyom” newspaper. Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. Homicide [nJ].
3 February – Yury Baldin, chief editor at Focus TV. Chelyabinsk. Homicide [nJ].
12 February – Vyacheslav Zvonarev, editor with Takt TV company. Kursk. Homicide [nJ].
25 February – Vadim Biryukov, chief editor of “Delovye lyudi” magazine, Novolesnaya St, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
23 March – Vladimir Aliev, Prokhladnoye, Kabardino-Balkaria. Homicide [nJ].
30 March – Nikolai Mozolin, Kirovsk, Leningrad Oblast. Homicide [nJ].
10 May – Alexander Korkin, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl Oblast. Homicide [nJ].
6 August – Valery Krivosheyev, Lipetsk. Homicide [nJ].
19 October – Lydia Lazarenko, Nizhny Novgorod. Homicide [nJ].
1998
30 January – Vladimir Zbaratsky, Mosfilmoskaya St, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
2 April – Ivan Fedyunin, correspondent of the Bryanskie Izvestia newspaper. Homicide, Bryansk [nJ].
6 April – Lira Lobach, media worker. district, Tomsk Oblast. Homicide [nJ].
20 May – Igor Myasnikov, Kineshma, Yaroslavl Oblast. Homicide [nJ].
7 June – Larisa Yudina, chief editor of the Sovetskaya Kalmykia Segodnya newspaper. Elista, Kalmykia. Contract killing. Perpetrators convicted (1999), but not those behind her murder [J].
28 July – Vladimir Ustinov, Ivanovo. Homicide [nJ].
17 August – Sergei Semenduyev, Makhachkala, Dagestan. Missing [nJ].
24 August – Anatoly Levin-Utkin, St Petersburg. Homicide [?J].
27 August – Mirbaba Seidov, homicide, Kaliningrad Oblast. Homicide [nJ].
29 August – Victor Shamro, homicide, St Petersburg. Homicide [nJ].
2 September – Farid Sidaui, correspondent of the Prosto nedvizhimost magazine. Ramenka St, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
30 December – Sergei Chechugo, Vladivostok. Not confirmed [?J].
1999
19 February – Gennady Bodrov, Homicide [nJ].
25 February – Valentina Mirolyubova and Nikolai Mirolyubov, Homicide [nJ].
4 March – Andrei Polyakov, Homicide [nJ].
30 May – Alexei Kulanov, Homicide [nJ].
30 June – Vadim Rudenko, Homicide.
30 August – Lubov Loboda, Kuibyshev (Novosibirsk Oblast). Contract killing. Perpetrator, intermediary and man who ordered her dead all charged and convicted [nJ].
27 September – Christopher Reese, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
27 October – Supyan Ependiyev, correspondent of the Groznenskiy Rabochy newspaper, Chechnya. Crossfire [J].
29 October – Cameramen Shamil Gigayev and Ramzan Mezhidov, national TVC channel and local Chechen TV. Shami-Yurt, Chechnya. Crossfire. 2005 Judgment by European Court of Human Rights [
Under Putin (2000–2008; incl. 2nd Chechen conflict)
2000–2002
Anna Politkovskaya was assassinated at her home in Moscow on 7 October 2006.
2000
1 February – Vladimir Yatsina, a photocorrespondent with ITAR-TASS. On his first and only trip to Chechnya he was kidnapped and later killed (by a group of Wahhabis some suggest).[82] Homicide [J].
10 February – Ludmila Zamana, Samara. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
9 March – Artyom Borovik, Sovershenno sekretno periodical and publishing house, director and journalist. Sheremetyevo-1 Airport, Moscow. Incident not confirmed [?J].
22 March – Luisa Arzhieva, correspondent for Istina mira newspaper (Moscow). Avtury, Chechnya. Crossfire [?J].
17 April – Oleg Polukeyev, Homicide.
1 May – Boris Gashev, literary critic. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
13 May – Alexander Yefremov, Chechnya. A photojournalist with west Siberian newspaper Nashe Vremya, he died when militants blew up a military jeep in which he was travelling. On previous assignments, Yefremov received positive attention for his news photographs from the war-torn region. Crossfire [J].
16 July – Igor Domnikov, from Novaya Gazeta, Moscow. Struck over the head with a hammer in the stairwell of his Moscow apartment building, Domnikov was in a coma for two months. His murderer was identified in 2003 and convicted in 2007.[83] The men who ordered and organised the attack have been named by his paper but not charged. Homicide [J].
26 July – Sergei Novikov, Radio Vesna, Smolensk. Shot in a contract killing in stairwell of his apartment building. Claimed that he often criticized the administration of Smolensk Region. Homicide [?J].
21 September – Iskander Khatloni, Radio Free Europe, Moscow. A native of Tajikistan, Khatloni was killed at night in an axe attack on the street outside his Moscow apartment block. His assailant and the motive of the murder remain unknown. A RFE/RL spokeswoman said Khatloni worked on stories about the human-rights abuses in Chechnya.[84] Homicide [nJ].
3 October – Sergei Ivanov, Lada-TV, Tolyatti. Shot five times in the head and chest in front of his apartment building. As director of largest independent television company in Tolyatti, he was an important player on the local political scene.[85] Homicide. Gang responsible on trial [nJ].
18 October – Georgy Garibyan, journalist with Park TV (Rostov), murdered in Rostov-on-Don [nJ].
20 October – Oleg Goryansky, freelance journalist, press & TV. Murdered in Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast. Conviction [nJ].
21 October – Raif Ablyashev, photographer with Iskra newspaper. Kungur, Perm Krai. Homicide [nJ].
3 November – Sergei Loginov, Lada TV (Tolyatti). Incident not confirmed [nJ].
20 November – Pavel Asaulchenko, cameraman for Austrian TV, Moscow. Contract killing. Conviction of perpetrator [nJ].
23 November – Adam Tepsurkayev, Reuters, Chechnya. A Chechen cameraman, he was shot at his neighbour’s house in the village of Alkhan-Kala (aka Yermolovka). Tepsurkayev filmed most of Reuters’ footage from Chechnya in 2000, including the Chechen rebel Shamil Basayev having his foot amputated. Homicide (war crime) [J].
28 November – Nikolai Karmanov, retired journalist. Lyubim, Yaroslavl Oblast. Homicide [nJ].
23 December – Valery Kondakov, freelance photographer. Killed in Armavir, Krasnodar Krai [nJ].
2001
1 February – Eduard Burmagin, Homicide.
24 February – Leonid Grigoryev, Homicide [nJ].
8 March – Andrei Pivovarov, Homicide.
31 March – Oleg Dolgantsev, Homicide [nJ].
17 May – Vladimir Kirsanov,[87] chief editor. Kurgan. Homicide [J].
2 June – Victor Popkov, Novaya gazeta contributore, died in Moscow Region hospital. Wounded in Chechnya two months earlier. Crossfire [J].
11 September – Andrei Sheiko, Homicide [nJ].
19 September – Eduard Markevich, 29, editor and publisher of local newspaper Novy Reft in Sverdlovsk Oblast. Shot in the back[87] in a contract killing, homicide [J].
5 November – Elina Voronova, Homicide [nJ].
16 November – Oleg Vedenin, Homicide.
21 November – Alexander Babaikin, Homicide [nJ].
1 December – Boris Mityurev, Homicide.
2002
18 January – Svetlana Makarenko, Homicide.
4 March – Konstantin Pogodin, Novoye Delo newspaper, Nizhny Novgorod. Homicide.
8 March – Natalya Skryl, Nashe Vremya newspaper, Taganrog. Homicide [?J].
31 March – Valery Batuyev, Moscow News newspaper, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
1 April – Sergei Kalinovsky, Moskovskij Komsomolets local edition, Smolensk. Homicide [nJ].
4 April – Vitaly Sakhn-Vald, photojournalist, Kursk. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
25 April – Leonid Shevchenko, Pervoye Chtenie newspaper, Volgograd. Homicide [nJ].
29 April – Valery Ivanov, founder and chief editor of Tolyattinskoye Obozrenie newspaper, Samara Oblast.[87] Contract killing [J].
20 May – Alexander Plotnikov, Gostiny Dvor newspaper, Tyumen. Homicide.
6 June – Pavel Morozov, Homicide.
25 June – Oleg Sedinko, founder of Novaya Volna TV & Radio Company, Vladivostok. Contract killing, explosive in stairwell [nJ].
20 July – Nikolai Razmolodin, general director of Europroject TV & Radio Company, Ulyanovsk. Homicide.
21 July – Maria Lisichkina Homicide [nJ].
27 July – Sergei Zhabin, press service of the Moscow Oblast governor. Homicide [nJ].
18 August – Nikolai Vasiliev, Cheboksary, Chuvashia. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
25 August – Paavo Voutilainen, former chief editor of Karelia magazine, Karelia. Homicide [nJ].
4 September – Leonid Kuznetsov, Periodicals of Mari-El publishing house, Yoshkar-Ola.[89] Incident not confirmed [?J].
20 September – Igor Salikov, head of information security at Moskovskij Komsomolets newspaper in Penza. Contract killing [nJ].
26 September – Roderick (Roddy) Scott, Frontline TV Company, Great Britain. Crossfire [J].
2 October – Yelena Popova, Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
19 October – Leonid Plotnikov Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
26 October – Tamara Voinova (Stavropol) and Maxim Mikhailov (Kaliningrad), Moscow theater hostage crisis . Terrorist Act [nJ].
21 December – Dmitry Shalayev, Kazan, Tatarstan. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
2003–2005
2003
7 January – Vladimir Sukhomlin, Internet journalist and editor, Serbia.ru, Moscow. Homicide. Off-duty police convicted of his murder. Those behind the contract killing were not convicted[J].
11 January – Yury Tishkov, sports commentator, Moscow. Contract killing [nJ].
21 February – Sergei Verbitsky, publisher BNV newspaper. Chita. Homicide [nJ].
18 April – Dmitry Shvets, TV-21 Northwestern Broadcasting, Murmansk. Deputy director of the independent TV-21 station (Northwestern Broadcasting), he was shot dead outside the TV offices. Shvets’ colleagues said the station had received multiple threats for its reporting on influential local politicians. Contract killing [nJ].
3 July – Yury Shchekochikhin, Novaya gazeta, Moscow. Deputy editor of Novaya gazeta and a Duma deputy since 1993. He died just a few days before his scheduled trip to United States to discuss the results of his journalist investigation with FBI officials. He investigated the Three Whales Corruption Scandal that allegedly involved high-ranking FSB officials. Shchekochikhin died from an acute allergic reaction. There has been much speculation about cause of his death. The investigation into his death has been opened and closed four times. Homicide [J].
4 July – Ali Astamirov, France Presse. Went missing in Nazran [?J].
18 July – Alikhan Guliyev, freelance TV journalist, from Ingushetia. Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
10 August – Martin Kraus, Dagestan. On way to Chechnya. Homicide [nJ].
9 October – Alexei Sidorov, Tolyatinskoye Obozreniye, Tolyatti. Second editor-in-chief of this local newspaper to be murdered. Predecessor Valery Ivanov shot in April 2002.[87] Homicide. Supposed killer acquitted [?J].
24 October – Alexei Bakhtin, journalist and businessman, formerly Mariiskaya pravda. Mari El. Homicide [nJ].
30 October – Yury Bugrov, editor of Provincial Telegraph. Balakovo, Saratov Oblast. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
25 December – Pyotr Babenko, editor of Liskinskaya gazeta. Liski, Voronezh Oblast. Homicide [nJ].
2004
1 February – Yefim Sukhanov, ATK-Media, Archangelsk. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
23 March – Farit Urazbayev, cameraman, Vladivostok TV/Radio Company, Vladivostok. Incident not Confirmed [nJ].
2 May – Shangysh Mongush, correspondent with Khemchiktin Syldyzy newspaper, Tuva. Homicide [?J].
9 May – Adlan Khasanov, Reuters reporter, died in Grozny bomb attack that killed Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov. Terrorist Act [J].
9 June – Paul Klebnikov, chief editor of newly established Russian version of Forbes magazine, Moscow. Contract killing, alleged perpetrators put on trial and acquitted. Homicide [J].
1 July – Maxim Maximov, journalist with Gorod newspaper, St Petersburg. Body not found. Homicide [J].
10 July – Zoya Ivanova, TV presenter, Buryatia State Television & Radio Company, Ulan-Ude, Buryatia. Homicide [nJ].
17 July – Pail Peloyan, editor of Armyansky Pereulok magazine, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
3 August – Vladimir Naumov, nationalist reporter, Cossack author (Russky Vestnik, Zavtra), Moscow Region. Homicide [nJ].
24 August – Svetlana Shishkina, journalist, Kazan, Tatarstan. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
24 August – Oleg Belozyorov, Moscow-Volgograd flight. Terrorist Act [nJ].
18 September – Vladimir Pritchin, editor-in-chief of North Baikal TV & Radio Company, Buryatia. Homicide [?J].
27 September – Jan Travinsky (St Petersburg), in Irkutsk as political activist for election campaign.[92] Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
2005
23 May – Pavel Makeyev, reporter for TNT-Pulse Company, Rostov-on-Don. Run down while photographing illegal street racing. Incident not Confirmed [?J].
28 July – Magomed Varisov, political analyst and journalist, shot dead near his home in Makhachkala, Dagestan. He “had received threats, was being followed and had unsuccessfully sought help from the local police” according to Committee to Protect Journalists. Sharia Jamaat claimed responsibility for the murder.[94] Homicide [J].
31 August – Alexander Pitersky, Baltika Radio reporter, Saint Petersburg. Homicide [?J].
3 September – Vladimir Pashutin, Smolensky Literator newspaper, Smolensk. Not Confirmed [nJ].
13 October – Tamirlan Kazikhanov, head of press service for Anti-Terrorist Center of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs’s Main Department for the Southern Federal District, Nalchik. Crossfire [J].
4 November – Kira Lezhneva, reporter with Kamensky rabochii newspaper, Sverdlovsk Oblast.[95] Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
2006–2008
2006
8 January – Vagif Kochetkov, newly appointed Trud correspondent in the region, robbed and killed in Tula. Acquittal [nJ].
26 February – Ilya Zimin, worked for NTV Russia television channel, killed in Moscow flat. Suspect tried in Moldova. Acquittal [nJ].
4 May – Oksana Teslo, media worker, Moscow Oblast. Arson attack on dacha. Homicide [nJ].
14 May – Oleg Barabyshkin, director of radio station, Chelyabinsk. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
23 May – Vyacheslav Akatov, special reporter, Business Moscow TV show, murdered in Mytishchi, Moscow Oblast. Killer caught and convicted. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
25 June – Anton Kretenchuk, cameraman, local Channel 38 TV, killed in Rostov-on-Don. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
25 July – Yevgeny Gerasimenko, journalist with Saratovsky Rasklad newspaper. Murdered in Saratov. Conviction [nJ].
31 July – Anatoly Kozulin, retired freelance journalist. Ukhta, Komi Republic. Homicide [nJ].
8 August – Alexander Petrov, editor-in-chief, Right to Choose magazine Omsk, murdered with family while on holiday in Altai Republic. Under-age murderer charged and prosecuted. Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
17 August – Elina Ersenoyeva, reporter for Chechenskoye obshchestvo newspaper. Abducted in Grozny, Chechnya. Missing [?J].
13 September – Vyacheslav Plotnikov, reporter, local “Channel 41” TV, Voronezh. Incident not Confirmed [nJ].
7 October – Anna Politkovskaya, commentator with Novaya Gazeta, Moscow, shot in her apartment building’s elevator;.[97][98][99][100] Four accused in contract killing, acquitted in February 2009 [J]. Five were convicted in 2014, Rustam Makhmudov pulled the trigger, aided by his uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev and two brothers, Dzhabrail and Ibragim. Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, a former Moscow police officer was also involved, and he was pardoned in 2023 after agreeing to fight for 6 months in the Russo-Ukrainian War.[101]
16 October – Anatoly Voronin, Itar-TASS news agency, Moscow. Homicide [nJ].
28 December – Vadim Kuznetsov, editor-in-chief of World & Home. Saint Petersburg magazine, killed in Saint Petersburg. Homicide [nJ].
2007
14 January – Yury Shebalkin, retired journalist, formerly with Kaliningradskaya pravda. Homicide in Kaliningrad. Conviction [nJ].
20 January – Konstantin Borovko, presenter of Gubernia TV company (Russian: “Губерния”), killed in Khabarovsk.[47] Homicide. Conviction [nJ].
2 March – Ivan Safronov, military columnist of Kommersant newspaper. Died in Moscow, cause of death disputed.[103][104] Incident not Confirmed. Investigation under Incitement to Suicide (Article 110) [?J].
15 March – Leonid Etkind, director at Karyera newspaper. Abduction and homicide in Vodnik, Saratov Oblast. Conviction [nJ].
5 April – Vyacheslav Ifanov, Novoye televidenie Aleiska, cameraman. Previously attacked by local military. Aleisk, Altai Krai. Incident not Confirmed [?J].
April – Marina Pisareva, deputy head of Russian office of German media group Bertelsmann was found dead at her dacha outside Moscow in April[105][106]
2008
(Putin’s final months as president in his first term)
8 February – Yelena Shestakova, former journalist, St Petersburg. Killer sent to psychiatric prison. Homicide [nJ].
21 March – Gadji Abashilov, chief of Dagestan State TV & Radio Company VGTRK, shot in his car in Makhachkala. Homicide [?J].
21 March – Ilyas Shurpayev, Dagestani journalist covering Caucasus on Channel One, was strangled with a belt by robbers in Moscow.[107][108] Alleged killers tracked to Tajikistan and convicted there of his murder. Homicide [?J].
The Medvedev presidency
Magomed Yevloyev was shot and killed while in police custody in Ingushetia on 31 August 2008.
2008
31 August – Magomed Yevloyev was shot dead while in police custody in Ingushetia. Yevloyev was the founder of the opposition website Ingushetia.org and was known for his regular criticism of Ingush President Murat Zyazikov.[109][110][111] The police officer involved in the killing, Ibragim Yevloyev, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison and was released after serving three months.[112][113]
2 September – Abdulla Alishayev was shot several times by unknown assailants in Makhachkala, Dagestan, and died in hospital.[114] Alishayev was the television host of TV-Chirkei and was known for his opposition to Islamic fundamentalism within the republic and Russia as a whole.[115]
30 December – Shafig Amrakhov was shot and wounded by an unknown assailant at his apartment in Murmansk and later died in hospital. Amrakhov was the editor of the RIA 51 news agency and criticized the economic policies of Yuri Yevdokimov, the governor of Murmansk Oblast.[116]
2009
4 January – Vladislav Zakharchuk died in a fire that engulfed a newspaper office in Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai. Zakharchuk was the advertisement manager for the newspaper Arsenyevskie Vesti. The newspaper was known for its criticism of the authorities in the krai and its chief editor and journalists had previously faced fines and imprisonment.[117]
19 January – Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova were shot and killed by a masked gunman in Moscow. Markelov was a lawyer who worked with Novaya Gazeta and brought many cases against the Russian military, Chechen warlords, and neo-Nazi groups. Baburova was a journalist-in-training for Novaya Gazeta and was known for investigating neo-Nazi activity in Russia.[118][119] Nikita Tikhonov (29) and Yevgenia Khasis (24), reportedly members of the Russian National Union, were charged in 2009 and convicted in 2011 of the murders.[120]
30 March – Sergei Protazanov was found unconscious at his home in Khimki, Moscow Oblast, and later died in hospital. Authorities and relatives believed he was poisoned. Protazanov was the page designer for Grazhdanskoye Soglasiye, the only opposition newspaper in the city, and was seriously beaten by assailants a few days prior to his death.[121]
29 June – Vyacheslav Yaroshenko died of wounds he received from a severe beating by an unknown assailant in April in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast. Yaroshenko was the chief editor of the Korruptsiya i Prestupnost newspaper and prior to his beating, the newspaper published multiple articles alleging corruption in the Oblast’s government, police, and prosecutor’s office.[122]
15 July – Natalia Estemirova was abducted and then killed in Grozny, Chechnya. Her body was later found near Nazran, Ingushetia. Estemirova was a human rights activist for Memorial who worked with journalists of Novaya Gazeta and occasionally published in the newspaper herself. She was known for investigating murders and kidnappings in Chechnya and was a colleague of Anna Politkovskaya.[123]
11 August – Malik Akhmedilov was found shot dead near Makhachkala, Dagestan. Akhemdilov was the deputy chief editor of Khakikat and the chief editor of the Sogratl newspapers, which focused on civic and political issues in the republic.[124]
25 October – Maksharip Aushev was shot dead in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria. Aushev worked on multiple human rights cases in neighboring Ingushetia and was the operator of Ingushetia.org following the death of Magomed Yevloyev in 2008.[125]
16 November – Olga Kotovskaya died after falling out of a window on the 14th-floor of a building in Kaliningrad. Authorities classified the death as suicide while colleagues believe she was murdered for her work. Kotovskaya was the co-founder of the Kaskad radio and television station, which was embroiled in an ownership lawsuit brought by Vladimir Pirogov, the former vice governor of Kaliningrad Oblast.[126]
2010
20 January – Konstantin Popov died from a beating received by Russian police while in custody in Tomsk. Popov was the co-founder and director of the Tema newspaper and was allegedly tortured prior to his death.[127]
23 February – Ivan Stepanov was stabbed to death at his dacha in Khilok, Zabaykalsky Krai. Stepanov was a local correspondent for the Zabaikalsky rabochy newspaper and the author of three books that were popular in his district.[128]
20 March – Maxim Zuyev went missing and was later found murdered in a flat he was renting in Kaliningrad. Zuyev was a reporter for multiple newspapers in Kaliningrad Oblast and was a moderator for the Koenigsberg journalist society.[129]
5 May – Shamil Aliyev was shot and killed by unknown gunmen in Makhachkala, Dagestan. Aliyev was the founder of the Priboi and Vatan radio stations and director of the TNT-Makhachkala television network and was known for his anti-Wahhabist views, which were reflected in his radio and TV stations.[130]
13 May – Said Ibragimov was shot dead while travelling with a team of repairmen to restore a television transmitter that was damaged by militants the previous day in Ayazihis Niva, Dagestan. Ibragimov was the director of TBS, a local television channel.[131]
25 June – Dmitry Okkert, Moscow. A presenter with the Expert TV channel, Okkert was found stabbed to death in his own apartment. The director of the Expert media holding, Valery Fadeyev, does not believe that the brutal killing of his colleague was linked to his journalistic activities.
25 July – Bella Ksalova was fatally injured and later died in hospital after being hit by a vehicle near her home in Cherkessk, Karachay-Cherkessia. Ksalova was a correspondent for the Caucasian Knot website and news agency and wrote highly critical articles of local authorities. The driver, Arsen Abaikhanov, plead guilty and was sentenced three years in a penal colony.[132]
1 August – Malika Betiyeva was killed along with four members of her family when a speeding vehicle hit hers on a highway in Chechnya. Betiyeva was the deputy chief editor of the Molodyozhnaya smena newspaper and a correspondent for Dosh magazine. She was known for writing about lawless behavior of government agencies in Chechnya and her worked had to be published under an assumed name for her own safety.[133]
11 August – Magomed Sultanmagomedov was killed in a drive-by-shooting in Makhachkala, Dagestan. Sultanmagomedov was the director of the Makhachkala TV station and was previously a target of an attempted bombing in 2008.[134]
23 October – Yevgeny Fedotov died in hospital due to head injuries he received in a violent quarrel with his neighbor in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai. The latter was charged with manslaughter.[135]
2011
15 December – Gadzhimurat Kamalov was shot six times in a drive-by shooting outside his newspaper’s office in Makhachkala, Dagestan. Kamalov owned the media company Svoboda Slova and was known for investigating corruption and rebel activity in the republic.[136]
Under Putin (since 2012; including Russo-Ukrainian War)
2012
7 February – Victor Afanasenko died after sustaining a mysterious head injury at his home in Rostov-on-Don. As editor-in-chief of Crime and Corruption newspaper, Aphanasenko had been investigating raids in Kushchyovsky District and Rostov Oblast. While the official explanation was that he had slipped, a colleague who examined his body said that the injury could not have resulted from a fall.[137][138]
7 July – Alexander Khodzinsky was stabbed to death by local businessman and former deputy mayor Gennady Zhigarev in Tulun, Irkutsk Oblast. Khodzinsky had campaigned against abusive and illegal practices in the construction of a shopping mall in the town center since 2007 and regularly complained to President Dmitry Medvedev and governor Dmitry Mezentsev about the issue.[139]
5 December – Kazbek Gekkiev was shot dead at a street in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, after receiving death threats from local extremists. Gekkiev worked for local TV programs in the republic.[140]
2013
9 July – Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev was killed while driving just 50 metres from his house on the outskirts of Makhachkala, Dagestan, after receiving numerous death threats. Akhmednabiyev was the deputy editor of the newspaper Novoye Delo and wrote regularly about the politics of the republic and human rights issues in the North Caucasus. He was previously the victim of an attempted assassination in January 2013.[141][142][143][144]
2014
1 August – Timur Kuashev was abducted from his home and later found dead in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria.[145] Kuashev worked for the magazine Dosh and received death threats and was previously stopped by local police a number of times.[146]
2016
31 March – Dmitry Tsilikin was stabbed to death in his flat in Saint Petersburg. Tsilikin wrote for many independent media outlets and mainly focused on social issues and human rights.[147] The suspected killer is neo-nazi Sergey Kosyrev. The murder was attributed to Tsilikin’s homosexuality.[148]
2017
17 March – Yevgeny Khamaganov died of unexplained causes in Ulan-Ude, Buryatia. Khamaganov was known for writing articles that criticized the federal government and was allegedly beaten by unknown assailants on 10 March.[149]
19 April – Journalist and former prisoner of conscience Nikolay Andrushchenko died in Saint Petersburg from wounds that he received from a severe beating by unknown assailants on 9 March. Andrushchenko was the co-founder of the newspaper Novy Petersburg and was previously jailed in 2009 by a city court for “libel and extremism”.[150]
24 May – Dmitry Popkov was found dead from gunshot wounds at a bathhouse close to his home in Minusinsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai. Popkov was the chief editor of the newspaper Ton-M and was known for investigating police corruption.[151]
8 September – The body of Andrey Ruskov was found in the Bira River in Birobidzhan, Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Ruskov worked for the Bestvideo Broadcasting Studio.[152]
2018
15 April – Maksim Borodin died of injuries from falling out of a window at his apartment in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, on 12 April. Authorities classified the death as suicide while colleagues reject the notion. Borodin regularly wrote on crime, corruption, and the recent involvement of Russian mercenaries in Syria.[153]
23 July – Denis Suvorov was found dead after being stabbed by an unknown assailant in Nizhny Novgorod. Suvorov worked for the Vesti-Privolzhye television station and was an editor for the Vesti.Nizhny Novgorod internet portal.[154][155]
30 July – Three journalists, Kirill Radchenko, Alexander Rastorguyev and Orkhan Dzhemal, were murdered in the Central African Republic while reporting on the involvement of Russian Private military companies and arms dealers in that country’s civil war.[156]
31 July – Sergei Grachyov went missing in Nizhny Novgorod on 21 July after taking a reporting trip there from Moscow. His body was found 11 days later. Grachyov worked for the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.[157][158]
10 September – Yegor Orlov disappeared on 7 September after leaving for work in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan. His body was found later in a river in the Yelabuzhsky District. Orlov was a correspondent and presenter at Chelny REN-TV.[159]
2022
23 March – Oksana Baulina was killed by shelling in Kyiv while reporting for The Insider[160]
15 August – Zemfira Suleymanova died after being hit by a PFM-1 mine in the Donetsk People’s Republic[161]
20 August – Darya Dugina, a journalist working for RT and Tsargrad TV was killed by a car bomb[162]
28 October – Svetlana Babayeva, head of the Simferopol branch of Rossiya Segodnya, killed by a stray bullet during a military shooting practice[163]
2023
April – Vladlen Tatarsky a blogger with over 500,000 followers was killed by a bomb in a cafe in St Petersburg.[164]
July – Rostislav Zhuravlev was killed by shellfire in the front line in the Zaporizhia region of Ukraine whilst working for Russia’s RIA news agency.[165]
23 November – Boris Maksudov, war correspondent for Rossiya 24 TV channel, died of shrapnel wounds after a drone strike in southeastern Ukraine.[166]
2024
5 January – Zoya Konovalova, editor-in-chief of the Internet group of the state-controlled Kuban broadcast company, was found dead alongside her ex-husband. Preliminary reports suggested she was poisoned.[167][168]
7 January – Alexander Rybin, journalist working with Rabkor, was found dead on a roadside in Shakhty after criticizing Russia’s reconstruction efforts in Mariupol. Investigators claimed he died of cardiomyopathy.[169]