Vandals destroy memorial to Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow

A memorial plaque dedicated to the murdered Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya in central Moscow has been destroyed by unknown vandals, according to a former Moscow municipal deputy who shared photos of the damage on his personal Telegram channel on Sunday.

In his Telegram post, Alexander Zamyatin noted that Monday is also the anniversary of the deaths of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova, both of whom were killed by neo-Nazis in Moscow in 2009.

The editorial staff of Novaya Gazeta and Politkovskaya's children are demanding that a criminal investigation be started and the culprits identified.

Politkovskaya, who gained international renown for her exposés of Kremlin corruption and the brutal treatment of civilians in Chechnya at the hands of Russian forces during the Second Chechen War, was assassinated in the stairwell of her own apartment building on Moscow’s Lesnaya Street on 7 October 2006. Those who ordered the crime have never been found.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2018 that the Russian government had failed to carry out an effective investigation into Politkovskaya’s murder. The statute of limitations on the case expired on 7 October 2021.