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Anna Politkovskaya remembered 19 years after her murder in Moscow

07.10.2025 14:55
October 7 marks the 19th anniversary of the killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime - a date that also coincides with his birthday.
Portraits of Russian opposition heroes - from left: Anna Politkovskaya (1958-2006), Alexei Navalny (1976-2024) and Boris Nemtsov (1959-2015) - are displayed outside the Russian Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic, on February 16, 2025.
Portraits of Russian opposition heroes - from left: Anna Politkovskaya (1958-2006), Alexei Navalny (1976-2024) and Boris Nemtsov (1959-2015) - are displayed outside the Russian Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic, on February 16, 2025. Photo: Ondrej Deml/PAP/CTK

“In an era of disinformation and intimidation, her legacy calls on all of us to defend truth, transparency, and press freedom,” the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) said in a statement marking the anniversary.

The organization added that “on this day in 2006, journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered for exposing human rights abuses and government corruption in Russia,” reaffirming its mission “to ensure that the truth is always told.”

Independent journalists, Russian human rights defenders and opposition figures - many of whom continue to resist the Kremlin’s rule as Putin turns 73 today - have paid tribute to her courage and commitment to truth, noting her fearless reporting on the war in Chechnya unleashed by Putin’s dictatorship.

Some have pointed out that her assassination, on the Russian leader’s birthday, was seen by critics as a grim 'gift' from those who ordered her killing. 

(mp)

Source: IAR/X/@ECPMF