Anna Politkovskaya

Three days ago, Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, was assassinated. Her death is yet another sign of the growing acceptance of politically motivated killings in Russia over the past few years. With each new death, Russian society grows more accepting of the return to the old ways. Politkovskaya was a vocal critic of the Russian government and its policies, especially in lax enforcement of human rights laws. Her death, like the others, will be fully investigated, and left unsolved by the Russian authorities. Her death will not be mourned by the Putin government.

Most alarming is Russian society -- their acceptance of the assassinations and lack of interest in the abuses Politkovskaya was critical of. As Putin commented, "I think that journalists should be aware that her [Politkovskaya] influence on political life was extremely insignificant in scale. She was known in journalist and human rights circles, but her influence on political life in Russia was minimal." I'm not sure this was the state of affairs Gorbachev was hoping for when he ended the cold war and brought democracy to Russia.

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