The Truth about Anna Politkotskaya

I have just watched the Dispatches programme broadcast last night on Channel 4 on the investigation into the murder of journalist Anna Politkotskaya.

The programme leaves us in no doubt that Russia is corrupt and the balance of probability is that Anna may well have been on the hit list of the Chechnya President,following an article that she had written.The article accused the Chechyna President of corruption including spending $30k on fancing girls.


You may recall that last October,one of Russia's leading investigative journalists was killed by a hit squad.The programme followed her collegues as they tried to get to the truth of the killing.

She was described as one of President Putin's strongest critics,Putin denied any role in the assassination and dismissed her role in the country.

After Iraq Russia is one of the most dangerous places for journalists,Anna was the third journalist on the paper to be killed.13 journalists have been murdered since Putin came to power.

The programme paints a picture of an increasingly lawless country where the boundries of power,corruption and money are blurred.The judicial system is not capable of dealing with these murders.There is growing unease amongst the increasingly diminishing opposition as the events of this weekend showed.As the next election for President grows near,the mainstream media simply refuse to cover any democratic debate.

Two of the five Tv stations is owned by the governemnt,the other three are owned by Gazprom.Increasingly the ownership of the media is being concentrated in the hands of those in power.

Anna's fame came from reporting on the war in Chechnya,she was one of a small band of people who had seen what was really happening.In 2002,Chechyna terrorists stormed a theatre in Moscow and asked for Anna to act as a go between.Russian security forces, stormed the theatre killing 129 of the hostages,

Anna's role in the tragedy and her anger at the outcome made her a target for the government and she started to receive death threats.

Two weeks before his death in London from Radiation poisoning,Alexander Litvinenko was blaming Putin for the murder of Anna at a press conference.His death still remains unsolved.

So what evidence do the journalists have?

A professional hit man approached the newspaper, tempted no doubt by the reward and has offered to show who pulled the trigger.

The investigation seems to point towards the involvement of the secret service due to the mode of operation.

Litvinenko was supposed to have sent his information to Moscow but it has never been received.

A Chechynan assassination squad is arrested in Moscow and then mysteriously released and sent back to Chechnya.

Unfortunately her death will remain unsolved.