Prominent Journalist Olga Kotovskaya Killed Mysteriously in Russia

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6 December 2009 :: J.E. Robertson

A prominent Russian journalist, Olga Kotovskaya, has been killed in a mysterious fall from a building in Kaliningrad, under circumstances press rights groups believe suggest yet another attack on press freedom by shadowy individuals linked to the government. Kotovskaya had just won an important court victory over the government and should have been allowed to take back control of a TV network she had founded.

According to the Reporters without Borders (RSF) website:

Reporters Without Borders is calling for a thorough investigation into the death of Olga Kotovskaya, a prominent journalist who apparently fell from the 14th floor of a building in the centre of Kaliningrad (the capital of a Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania) six days after a court ruled that she had been unfairly stripped of the TV station she had created.

“Kotovskaya’s tragic and highly suspicious death needs a thorough and meticulous investigation,” Reporters Without Borders said. “It should possibly be assigned to a police department that does not come under the local authorities, whose role in her death is one of the elements that needs to be examined.”

An arbitrage court found that Kotovskaya’s TV station, Kaskad, had been taken away from her through and illegal and fraudulent process. RSF reports: ”The court ruled that the document used to transfer control to new owners had been forged. Kaliningrad’s current governor, Vladimir Pirogov is alleged to have been involved in the takeover.”

Family and associates say it is impossible that Kotovskaya, a driven and tireless journalist and a skilled businesswoman, would commit suicide just days after winning a major court victory, opening the possibility of retaking control of her network. With local government officials allegedly involved in the illegal seizure, there is widespread suspicion local authorities orchestrated her murder to prevent further legal fallout or the restoration of the station to her control.

The collusion of local authorities in the apparent murder of prominent journalists is becoming a hallmark of what appears to be a sustained attack by allies of certain figures within the government against press criticizing actions, policies and allies of those individuals. For example, the long-time ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, is accused by press-rights groups, as well as by friends and colleagues of those killed, of involvement in a number of killings in Chechnya and the Caucasus region.

Political murders and killings are an escalating worry in 21st-century Russia, as hardline leaders both seek to put down separatist movements and cling to power, despite their failure to create an atmosphere of security and stability. The period of the Putin presidency saw political assassinations significantly on the rise across Russia, and even beyond Russia’s borders, and there have been fears that Pres. Medvedev would to little to stem the rising tide of violence against the press.

It remains to be seen if Pres. Medvedev’s approach to press freedom and security will be more credible than his predecessor’s. But Medvedev recently called for a comprehensive democratization of Russia’s economy and political system, laying out his policy that an economy based on information and human knowledge, suggesting a free press would be beneficial to the development of a society of free individuals innovating and trading together to create a better future.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports:

In the address Medvedev said “freedom of speech should be backed up by technological innovation,” that Russians “should work more actively to expand the free Internet and digital television space,” and that nobody in the government “can obstruct discussion on the Internet or censor thousands of channels at once.”

He has started a video blog in which he engages the Russian public and talks about his policy goals and his hopes for a freer Russian society. But Pres. Medvedev’s policies toward prosecuting violence against the press have yet to catch up with the rhetoric of his state of the nation address. Journalists still face an overtly dangerous situation in much of Russia, and those responsible for orchestrating politically motivated killings have yet to be brought to justice.