February 02, 2026

Vandalism at a Murder Site


Vandalism at a Murder Site
Grief won’t bring back those who were killed. The Russian Life files

In recent months, a memorial plaque for murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya has been torn down numerous times, only to be replaced by activists.

The first incident took place on January 18, when the original plaque to Politkovskaya was destroyed. The court found a certain Alexander Filippov guilty and fined him R1,000 (about $13). 

The day after the plaque was destroyed, activists installed a new, temporary one made of foam board, but it too was soon torn down by unknown persons. The situation began to repeat itself over and over again; responsibility for the destruction was claimed by both residents of the building and neo-Nazi groups.

On January 27, the Telegram channel “Ostrozhno, novosti” reported that the plaque had been torn down for a seventh time. According to state-run newspaper Kommersant, representatives of the Yabloko party intend to join the fight for the plaque and have already put up a new one.

"While the existence of this plaque did not bother many people for many years, today its destruction persistently brings back into the public eye the very fact of the murder that took place in the elevator of this building,” said Alexander Politkovsky, husband of the journalist.

Politkovskaya wrote about crimes in Chechnya for Novaya Gazeta and the investigation into her murder concluded that the motive was grounded in her professional activities. A stone plaque was installed on her apartment building's façade on the first anniversary of the tragedy, in 2007. 

Today, nearly 20 years after her murder, the memory of the crime has become a battleground between two irreconcilable political camps, and it is unfolding at 8 Lesnaya Street in Moscow. Notably, one of the accomplices to the crime, former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, was freed from prison to participate in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and was not only pardoned, but received an order for bravery in 2023.

You Might Also Like

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955