Remembering Anna

A lot of journalists of my generation — aged just 20 years old when Anna was killed — left journalism following her death. I left, too. But then I returned. Many of them were overwhelmed by pain and disappointment. Need I explain why? Since then, 17 years have passed. Those who killed Anna remain in power. There is still a war going on.

The pain will not go away. But there exists another catalyst — for me, at least. A quiet rage that is like fuel, offering me strength on my hardest days. When you learn, for example, that a missile hit a cafe in a tiny Ukrainian village during a memorial service.

Through this pain and rage, I am able to understand our colleague Olga Musafirova, Novaya-Europe’s correspondent in Ukraine. Her rage is definitely not quiet, but it is certainly her fuel, and ensures she too does her job well.

They may have killed Anna Politkovskaya, but they did not stop her. The days of those who killed her, however, are numbered.