Standing up for free speech in Russia
STANISLAV MARKELOV, a human rights lawyer, and Anastasia Baburova, an independent left journalist, were shot and killed by a masked assassin on January 19, 2009, as they were leaving a press conference in downtown Moscow.
Markelov was shot in the head and died on the scene. Baburova was shot second and died in the hospital. These are the most recent in a string of murders in Russia in the last few years targeting political activists and journalists.
As government authorities have made little to no effort to prosecute murderers from previous political assassinations, activists know not to expect the government to seriously investigate Markelov and Baburova's murders. Instead, radical youth took to the streets to express their anger at the loss of their comrade, Baburova, and other concerned citizens joined them to protest the deaths of more innocent people, the inaction of the Russian government, and to demand justice.
The Russian government's silence is noticeable, yet not unusual. The government is known for jailing political opponents and dissidents. Several critics of the government, including journalists who spoke out against torture, kidnappings and extrajudicial murders in Russia's North Caucusus region have been murdered in the last few years. The high level of corruption in the Russian government promotes an atmosphere where enemies can be eliminated, and assassins have little reason to fear ever being prosecuted.
Four hundred people gathered January 20th at the place of the murder, where a makeshift memorial of candles and flowers had sprung up. Part of the crowd then decided to begin an illegal march. As the moving mass dodged police, losing some to rough arrests, marchers managed to block several intersections in Moscow. Holding lighted flares, 200 carried banners reading, "The Fascists Kill, The Authorities Cover Them Up," and "For the Authorities, Fascism is Hooliganism."
For a period of 20 minutes, the block moved between intersections before the majority of the crowd managed to swarm down into an underground metro station and disappear. During the march, about 50 people were arrested, some of them passersby, though ultimately everyone was released without charges.
One hundred people also marched the same night in St. Petersburg, gathering first at a spot where Timur Kacharava, a 20-year-old rock musician and anti-fascist activist was murdered by neo-fascists in 2005. In Kacharava's case, 3,000 university students petitioned the government to bring his murderers to trial. Seven defendants were eventually arrested, admitted to the crime and were sentenced.
A protest also happened in Chechnya. Sanctioned by the Chechen government, 1,000 people turned out to express their anger at the death of Markelov, who had fought for justice for murdered, tortured and kidnapped Chechens--a result of the struggle of an independence movement against Russia in the 1990s. The press conference Markelov and Baburova were leaving when they were killed concerned the early release of a Russian colonel who had raped a Chechen girl. Markelov had defended the girl's family against the colonel, who was sentenced to 10 years in 2003.
Markelov, 34, was a well-known human rights lawyer who also represented clients such as anti-fascists who had been murdered in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and journalists who were also attacked and murdered. His own murder could have been ordered by any number of people.
Baburova, 25, was a freelance journalist, an anarchist and an activist involved in many issues. She worked to fight the eviction of refugees from dormitories, campaigned against police brutality, was involved in solidarity work for political prisoners and investigated and wrote about neo-fascist groups in Russia.
The effect that unchecked, contracted murders have on free speech and the right to dissent against a corrupt, oligarchic government is obvious. Under an environment of fear and oppression, the left can be stifled, and the ominous influence of the far-right wing in a period of economic crisis may grow. The left must work to defend the right to free speech and political dissent.
Many rightly decry these extrajudicial killings as a major threat to anyone who dares speak out against the corruption of the Russian ruling class. Leftists around the world should speak out and raise awareness about the plight of opposition forces in Russia.
Rachael Moshman, from the Internet
