Her memory lingers

In memory of slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, some are refusing to back down:

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Wednesday hosted the launch of a new book by murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the first by her to be widely available in her native land and language.

Politkovskaya, a critic of President Vladimir Putin and reporter of human rights abuses in Chechnya, was shot dead last October at the entrance to her central Moscow apartment block as she returned from a Saturday afternoon shopping trip.

Investigators say her unsolved murder was linked to her reporting.

Gorbachev, 76, hosted the launch at his political institute in Moscow alongside Politkovskaya’s son, daughter and estranged husband, who edited the book.

“Anna may have died, but she is still with us and it (the book) is very important because we need to know more about people like her, especially in a country which is still trying to find its way,” Gorbachev told the press briefing.

The fight for justice in Russia under Putin is a lonely road. Anna was one of the greatest journalists of the last half century, and her death and work deserves the fullest investigation.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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