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Murders of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova

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On 19 January 2009, two Russian journalists, Anastasia Baburova and Stanislav Markelov, were shot and killed by members of the neo-Nazi organization Battle Organization of Russian Nationalists. Baburova became the fourth Novaya Gazeta journalist to be killed since 2000.

Murders of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova
Moscow is located in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow
Moscow (Moscow)
Moscow is located in Russia
Moscow
Moscow
Moscow (Russia)
LocationMoscow, Russia
Coordinates55°44′38″N 37°35′59″E / 55.7438°N 37.5998°E / 55.7438; 37.5998
Date19 January 2009
Attack type
Assassination
WeaponBrowning 1910 pistol
Deaths2
Victims
  • Stanislav Markelov
  • Anastasia Baburova
PerpetratorsBattle Organization of Russian Nationalists

Murder

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Stanislav Markelov was shot to death on 19 January 2009 while leaving a news conference in Moscow less than 800 metres (1⁄2 mi) from the Kremlin; he was 34. Anastasia Baburova, a journalist for Novaya Gazeta who tried to come to Markelov's assistance, was also shot and killed in the attack.[1][2] The weapon used in the shooting was a Browning 1910 pistol.[3]

At first it was reported that Baburova had been wounded in an attempt to detain Markelov's killer, but later Russian law enforcement authorities declared that Baburova was shot in the back of her head. Baburova died a few hours after the attack at a Moscow hospital.[4]

Aftermath

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Graffiti on a parking lot of the Tyumen Regional State Library, dedicated to Markelov and Baburova. Tyumen, Russia.

Reactions

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Close to 300 young people protested in Moscow with slogans such as "United Russia is a fascist country" and "Markelov will live forever".[5] More than 2,000 people took to the streets of Grozny.[6]

Then President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko sent her parents a condolence telegram on 23 January 2009.[7] Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave his condolences six days later.[8][9][10]

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International requested an impartial investigation.[11] A hate crimes expert, Galina Kozhevnikova, said in February 2009 that she received an e-mailed threat warning her to "get ready" to join Markelov.[12]

The BBC reported that Markelov had planned to appeal the early release of Yuri Budanov. Budanov, sentenced to ten years in prison, was released early because he had "repented".[13] When reached for a comment, Budanov denounced the killings as a provocation aimed at fueling animosity between Russians and Chechens and offered condolences to the families of the deceased.[14]

Investigations by the radio station Echo of Moscow indicate that most people distrusted the authorities and thought they could not adequately investigate the murder and that the crimes would not be solved.[15]

According to Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, the details of the murder indicate the involvement of Russian state security services.[16] He stated:

In the opinion of the Novaya Gazeta staff, of which I am a member, the Russian security services or rogue elements within these services are the prime suspects in the murders of Baburova and Markelov. The boldness of the attack by a single gunman in broad daylight in the center of Moscow required professional preliminary planning and surveillance that would necessitate the security services, which closely control that particular neighborhood, turning a blind eye. The use of a gun with a silencer does not fit with the usual pattern of murders by nationalist neo-Nazi youth groups in Russia, which use homemade explosives, knives, and group assaults to beat up and stab opponents to death.

The offices of Russia's rulers President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have not issued any statements expressing indignation or offering any condolences after the two murders. This follows the usual behavioral pattern of the authoritarian Putin regime when its critics are murdered in cold blood.

Burial

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On 26 January 2009, Baburova was buried in the central city cemetery of her home town of Sevastopol.[17]

Investigation

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In November 2009, Russian authorities declared the end of the criminal investigation. The murder suspects were 29-year-old Nikita Tikhonov and his girlfriend, 24-year-old Yevgenia Khasis, a radical nationalist couple involved with a group called Russky Obraz or Russian Image (Russian: Русский образ) and associated with the identitarian organization BORN (Russian: Боевая организация русских националистов).[18][19]

Initially, "Russkiy Obraz" was a magazine, set up by Tikhonov and his friend Ilya Goryachev [ru] in 2002 as a clone of the radical fascist Serbian "Image" (Russian: Сербское "Образ") formed by Mladen Obradovic (Russian: Младен Обрадович), Deacon Boban Milovanovic (Russian: диакон Бобан Милованович) and Alexander Mishich (Russian: Александр Мишич).[20][a] Both were students of history at Moscow State University.[23] According to Tikhonov, the identitarian organization BORN was founded by him and Goryachev in 2007.[24][25]

According to both Khasis and Sergey Smirnov, Russky Obraz was the political roof for BORN similar to Sein Fein's relationship to the Irish Republican Army.[26][27] According to Khasis, Leonid Simunin was the BORN connection to the Kremlin and the presidential administration through Vladislav Surkov with a siloviki as the retired FSB officer Aleksey Korshunov (Russian: Алексей Коршунов) another strong supporter of BORN.[27][28]

According to investigators, Tikhonov was the one who committed the murder, while Khasis reported to him, by cell phone, the movements of Markelov and Baburova right before the assault. The motive of the murder was revenge for Markelov's prior work as a lawyer in the interests of Trotskyite activists.[29]

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The murder suspects were arrested, and were reported to have confessed. In May 2011, Tikhonov was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Khasis was sentenced to 18 years in prison.[29]

In 2015, Goryachev was sentenced for the murder of Markelov.[25]

Notes

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  1. ^ In 2012, Russkiy Obraz became the "Right-wing Conservative Alliance" (Russian: "обновленная версия" – "Правоконсервативный альянс") or Right-Conservative Alliance (PKA) (Russian: «Право-Консервативного Альянса» (ПКА)) and stated that the former leader of the Serbian Radical Party Vojislav Šešelj (Serbian Cyrillic: Војислав Шешељ) is an honorary citizen of Moscow.[20][21] Both Anna Trigga, also known as Anna Vladislavovna Bogacheva (Russian: Анна Владиславовна Богачева), who is indicted by the United States for her participation with the Internet Research Agency to interfere with the 2016 United States elections and convicted Russian spy Maria Butina were members of the Conservative Alliance.[22]

References

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  1. ^ Schwirtz, Michael; Bowley, Graham (19 January 2009). "Chechen Rights Lawyer and Journalist Shot in Moscow". The International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  2. ^ Schwirtz, Michael (19 January 2009). "Leading Russian Rights Lawyer Is Shot to Death in Moscow, Along With Journalist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  3. ^ Chernykh, Alexander (21 January 2011). "Key evidence emerges in Markelov, Baburova killings". Kommersant. Russia Beyond. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  4. ^ "В Севастополе похоронили Анастасию Бабурову" [Anastasia Baburova buried in Sevastopol]. Peoples.ru (in Russian). 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
  5. ^ "Анархисты все-таки прошли шествием по Москве" [Anarchists marched through Moscow after all]. Грани.ру (in Russian). 20 January 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  6. ^ Дадаев, Ахмед (20 January 2009). "Чеченцы хотят увековечить память убитого адвоката" [Chechens want to memorialize murdered lawyer]. Svoboda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  7. ^ "Виктор Ющенко выразил соболезнования в связи с гибелью журналистки Анастасии Бабуровой" [Viktor Yushchenko expresses condolences over death of journalist Anastasia Baburova]. Справочная Секретариата Президента Украины (in Russian). 23 January 2009. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
  8. ^ Kim, Lucian (29 January 2009). "Medvedev Expresses Condolences Over Journalist Slain in Moscow". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  9. ^ "Дмитрий Медведев сказал, почему не выразил соболезнования в связи с убийством Маркелова и Бабуровой" [Dmitry Medvedev said why he did not express condolences in connection with the murder of Markelov and Baburova]. Mideast.ru (in Russian). 29 January 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  10. ^ Belton, Catherine (30 January 2009). "Medvedev sympathy for murdered activists signals break from past". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  11. ^ "Правозащитники требуют расследования убийства Маркелова" [Human rights activists demand an investigation into Markelov's murder]. Грани.ру (in Russian). 20 January 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  12. ^ Wolfe, Lauren (11 February 2009). "Neo-Nazis threaten to murder journalists in Russia". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Prominent Russian lawyer killed". BBC News. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  14. ^ Качкаева, Элина (20 January 2009). "В центре Москвы расстреляли адвоката, выступавшего против освобождения Буданова" [A lawyer who opposed Budanov's release was shot dead in the center of Moscow]. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  15. ^ "Будут ли найдены виновные в смерти Маркелова и Бабуровой?" [Will those responsible for the deaths of Markelov and Baburova be found?]. Echo of Moscow (in Russian). 25 January 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  16. ^ Felgenhauer, Pavel (22 January 2009). "The Russian Security Services—The Prime Murder Suspect". Eurasia Daily Monitor. The Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  17. ^ "Sevastopol pays final respects to journalist gunned down in Moscow". UNIAN. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
  18. ^ Parfitt, Tom (6 May 2011). "Russian neo-Nazi gets life sentence for murdering lawyer and journalist". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  19. ^ Krainova, Natalya (11 November 2013). "Nationalist Suspected in High-Profile Killings Extradited". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  20. ^ a b Нэцин, Горан (22 June 2012). "Шешель - почетный гражданин Москвы?" [Sheshel - an honorary citizen of Moscow?]. inoSMI (in Russian). Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  21. ^ Смирнов, Сергей (3 May 2017). ""Открытая Россия" сотрудничала с бывшим главой организации "Русский образ". Чем известна эта организация? Рассказывает главный редактор "Медиазоны" Сергей Смирнов" ["Open Russia" cooperated with the former head of the organization "Russian Image". What is this organization known for? Says the editor-in-chief of "Mediazones" Sergey Smirnov]. Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  22. ^ Крутов, Марк; Добрынин, Сергей; Литой, Александр (2 October 2019). ""Русский образ" Пригожина" [Prigozhin's "Russian image"]. Radio Svoboda (in Russian). Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  23. ^ "Stanislav Markelov and anarchists". libcom.org. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 28 December 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  24. ^ Moulton, Emily (29 July 2015). "Russian neo-Nazi Ilya Goryachev was jailed for life for a string of hate killings in Russia". news.com.au. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  25. ^ a b Coynash, Halya (15 July 2015). "Leader of "Kremlin project" found guilty of ultranationalist BORN murders". Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  26. ^ Козенко, Андрей (20 November 2014). "Дело БОРН. Допрос неонацистки Хасис" [The BORN case. Interrogation of neo-Nazi Khasis]. Mediazona (in Russian). Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  27. ^ a b Васюнин, Илья (28 February 2014). "АРХИВ. Интервью с Леонидом Симуниным, которого Евгения Хасис назвала куратором БОРНа из Кремля" [ARCHIVE. Interview with Leonid Simunin, whom Yevgeniya Khasis described as BORN's handler from the Kremlin]. TV Rain (in Russian). Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  28. ^ Козенко, Андрей (20 November 2014). ""Я была его женщиной. У меня автомат под подушкой хранился" Евгения Хасис дала показания по делу БОРНа" ["I was his woman. I kept a machine gun under my pillow" Yevgenia Khasis testified in the BORN case]. Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  29. ^ a b Mirovalev, Mansur (6 May 2011). "Nikita Tikhonov And Yevgenia Khasis, Russian Nationalists, Sentenced For Killing Human Rights Lawyer, Journalist". HuffPost World. Archived from the original on 9 May 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
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