Anna Politkovskaya: Biography

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Anna Politkovskaya

On October 7, prominent Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was killed in Moscow.

Anna Politkovskaya graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University (faculty of journalism) in 1980. In 1982-93 she worked for Izvestia daily, Air Transport, ESKART union and Parity Publishers. In 1994-99 she was columnist and editor of the Crime Section in Obshchaya Gazeta newspaper. Since June 1999 she was columnist for Novaya Gazeta newspaper.

Since July 1999 Anna Politkovskaya repeatedly visited conflict areas and refugee camps in Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya. She wrote a book called “Journey to hell. The Chechen diary”. Apart from her professional activity she organized withdrawal of 89 residents of a retirement home in Grozny (Chechnya), who by her assistance were settled in Russia. However, in summer of 2000 the old people (22 persons) were brought back to Grozny in order to “show to the whole world that life in Grozny was coming back to normal.” People were left without water, medicines, food and clothes. In August 2000, under Politkovskaya’s initiative, Novaya Gazeta held a charity action called “Grozny. Retirement Home.” They collected about 5.5 ton of load and $5,000. In January 2000, for a series of publications from Chechnya Anna Politkovskaya was awarded Golden Pen of Russia prize.

According to her colleagues from Novaya Gazeta, “Anna Politkovskaya always showed courage and high professionalism in hard and dangerous conditions of work connected with endless overcoming of obstacles created in reporters’ work, under conditions of information blockade.” Besides, Anna was a human rights activist: helped soldiers’ mothers in court, investigated corruption in the Defense Ministry and Commandment of Joint Military Groups of Forces in Chechnya.