Anna Politkovsakaya’s son, Ilya, remained silent after the projection of the documentary on his mother. He was there, sitting with Sergei Sokolov, the deputy editor in chief of Novaya Gazeta. The gathered asked questions.
The curious stared at this young man. A security camera had caught the moment of her death. The gunman, wearing a baseball cap, slipped in behind her. He turns a corner and we hear the two shots. Ilya, too, was watching this unfold in a small projection at the European Parliament.
‘Russians don’t know anything about Russia,’ said Mr. Sokolov. Novaya Gazeta is one of the last independent newspapers in Russia. Everything else, aside from the international press titles available in the largest cities, are state run.
‘Our journalists are dissapearing. We’ve had to stop discussing Chechnya,’ he said. Five Novaya Gazeta journalists have been killed. Death threats are common. A 19 year old intern with the paper had been tossed from a train. He had also received death threats – all within one week of starting at the paper said Mr. Sokolov.
According to the editor, the Russian mentality is enslaved with a fascination that revolves around a cult of personality. Putin personifies that new personality where impunity and concentrated power are the norm. To stand apart, to demonstrate and express independent thought, has become an extremely dangerous affair.
‘A lack of media attention on the real image of Russian contributed to Anna Politkovsakaya’s death. Those with courage to write the truth are targets,’ said Mr. Sokolev.