Category Archives: Stanislav Markelov

One year ago, an assassin in a ski masked shot anti-fascist lawyer Stanislav Markelov in the back in the head near Kropotkinskaya metro.  The killer then shot Novaya gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova as she went after him.  She died in a hospital shortly thereafter. Both were well known antifascists.

Two suspects, Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgeniya Khasis, alleged former members of the fascist group Russian National Unity, were arrested in November in the killing, a rarity in Russia.  They’re being tried for murder in Moscow’s Basmanny court.

The memory of these two figures, however, not only reminds us of the plight of human rights activists and journalists, but also the specter of Russian fascist violence.

In his report on the Markelov and Babunova‘s murders in Novaya gazeta, Sergei Sokolov addresses two myths worth remembering about Russian fascists:

First myth: Russian fascists are shaved young morons in shitkickers and bombers who attack immigrants. There are those.  ..read more

There has been alot of criticism of President Medvedev’s and Prime Minister Putin’s silence  in regard to the murder of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova.  Dimitri Medvedev has finally responded.  But not in a overtly public manner but via a meeting with Novaya gazeta Editor-in-Chief Dmitri Muratov and former Soviet President and Novaya shareholder Mikhail Gorbachev.  According to an interview Muratov gave to RFE/RL about the meeting, Medvedev appeared to be monitoring the situation and was concerned about the murders.  As to why he didn’t make a statement about the killings earlier as some, including myself, hoped, Muratov said the following:

Mr. Medvedev said he absolutely did not want to make any statements [on the killing of Markelov and Baburova] because he knew very well how things work in the administration — he worked as chief of the presidential administration for many years. And he said he understood perfectly well that ..read more

The opening paragraph of Kommersant‘s article on Stanislav Markelov’s funeral reads:

Ostankinskoe cemetery where the jurist Stanislav Markelov was to be buried was heavily guarded.  OMON, police buses, and patrol cars. They asked mourners to show the contents of their bags and required them to show documents. There were whispers in the crowd that police feared a terrorist attack. They expected high state officials to be among the double murders’ mourners. But government officials didn’t come (However, there were public politicians from both government and opposition).  It’s notable that representatives of the Russian government also didn’t give any condolences. But yesterday Viktor Yushchenko send at telegram to his countrywoman.  (The journalist Anna Baburova, who was shot after the lawyer, is a native of Ukraine.)

Not a consolatory peep from the Russian government? Then what were all those Robocops supposed to represent?

A definitive narrative is forming in the Russian mainstream press about the Markelov-Baburova murders.  This narrative says that it is unlikely that Colonel Yuriy Budanov has any connection to the murder because he has the most to lose. In fact, the quick finger pointing at Budanov is exactly what those crafty killers want us to do! As Aleksandr Kots writes in Komsomolka:

It would be no surprise if the real murderers were actually counting on this reaction. Their aim was probably not so much the man’s death as the uproar that would follow. And there is no doubt that this crime will draw as wide a reaction as the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya — it was staged too “successfully” and professionally. “Russia releases a war criminal who, upon gaining his freedom, starts taking revenge,” they will begin to say in the West. “Here is the true demonic face of the ..read more

Stanislav Markelov had a lot of enemies. In addition to representing the Kungayev family, his other clients included: Khimkinskaya Pravda editor Mikhail Beketov (he’s on the verge of death), Chechen Yana Neserkhoyeva, a Nord-Ost hostage accused of helping terrorists in 2002, Zelimkhan Murdalov, a kidnapped Grozny resident who was tortured to death by an OMON officer, and AntiFa activist Alexei Olesinov.  Representing these types of people will make you enemies of Russian nationalists, Chechens, local businessmen, police and security forces, and skinheads. There is also, of course, Colonel Yuri Budanov, whose release last week was opposed by Markelov.

That list of enemies makes for a long list of potential perpetrators. Logic dictates that Budanov is the chief suspect, but the colonel denies any involvement in the murder.  “Do you think that after several days of freedom I had a burning desire to do more time?” he told Komsomolskaya pravda in an ..read more

As many already know, human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Novaya gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova were gunned down in Moscow  near the Kropotkinskaya metro on Monday afternoon. According to reports, a man in a green ski mask approached Markelov from behind and unloaded a few rounds into his head, execution style.  Baburova was seriously injured when she tried to intervene.  She died in a local hospital a few hours earlier. The gunman fled the scene.

Kommersant gives this description of the killing:

At 2:45 p.m. Stanislav Markelov exited the International Press Center with Novaya gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova.  They went down Prechistenka toward the Koprotkinskaya metro station. The assailant, a young man of around 180 cm height, dressed in a black trench coat. dark jeans and a green ski mask, went from across the street towards them. He followed he followed his victims for several minutes, and then, not far from the ..read more