Russian journalist shot dead

Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent Russian journalist and critic of the war in Chechnya, has been found shot dead at her apartment block in central Moscow. Her body was discovered in a lift by a neighbour on Saturday evening, according to police sources quoted by the Interfax news agency.

Police officers found a pistol and four rounds abandoned in the lift, it reported.

Politkovskaya worked for Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper known for its opposition to the Kremlin. 

A mother of two, she was well-known for exposing rights abuses by Russian troops and remained critical of Moscow's campaign in Chechnya despite intense government pressure.

She also acted as a negotiator with Chechen rebels who laid siege to a Moscow theatre in 2002.

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Vitaly Yaroshevsky, deputy editor of Novaya Gazeta, said: "The first thing that comes to mind is that Anna was killed for her professional activities. We don't see any other motive for this terrible crime.

"Chechnya has always been her main subject. Everything she wrote was on the edge."

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet President and a shareholder in Novaya Gazeta, told Interfax news agency that the killing a "savage crime".

"It is a blow to the entire democratic, independent press," he said.

"It is a grave crime against the country, against all of us."

Abi Wright, a spokeswoman for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said: "She was an intrepid and brave reporter who repeatedly risked her life to report the news from that region. It's a devastating development for journalism in Russia.

"This devastating news fits into a larger pattern that we have documented in Russia with over a dozen murders of journalists there. For someone of her reputation to be murdered, it's a terrible blow."

Threats

Politkovskaya's widely-praised war reporting came under scrutiny from Russian politicians and security services. She had been arrested and complained of sometimes being threatened.

Contract killings are not unusual in Moscow and gang violence is common. Reporters are frequently targeted.

Paul Klebnikov, an American journalist, was murdered in 2004 in Moscow. The editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine was shot four times as he left his office in central Moscow. His killers have not been found.

A source close to the case told Reuters the investigation was focusing on a possible link between Klebnikov's murder and his interest in the possible misappropriation of Russian funds intended for the reconstruction of Chechnya.