Moscow. Anna Politkovskaya is assassinated. She was 48 years old, and had written articles for Novaya Gazeta and books condemning Vladimir Putin’s policies, especially in Chechnya. In 2001, she published the book “Chechnya – Russian Dishonor.” In 2000, she received the Golden Pen Award from the Association of Russian Journalists. In October 2002, she courageously agreed to negotiate for the release of the hostages held in Moscow’s Dubrovka Theater. In 2003, she was awarded the OSCE Prize for Journalism and Democracy in Denmark. During the war in Chechnya, she continued to publish articles for seven years despite numerous acts of intimidation. She was also arrested by the Russian military and subjected to a mock execution. She was then poisoned on the flight from Moscow to Rostov, where she had gone to help resolve the Beslan school hostage crisis, and was forced to return to Moscow for critical medical treatment.
