Who Is Killing Russian Journalists?

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His internal organs were collapsing one after another." Informally doctors suggested the illness was an allergic reaction. But experts failed to establish an exact cause of death. And no criminal investigation was launched.

After Shchekochikhin died, Kabanov continued, several men in plain clothes came to his house and, with no explanation, collected all his medications. "To me, and many other people who happen to know about this, it looked like nothing but cleaning the scene, as if they were there to cover up something serious," Kabanov said.

CHOOSING THE QUIETER, SAFER LIFE
Garry Kasparov, one of the leaders of the opposition coalition Other Russia, says fear has undermined the integrity of the journalistic community in Russia.

"The vicious little maggot, called inner censorship, is sneaking in again," he told a 1 February press conference. "Fear makes such a good soil for self-censorship. There are so many things to be afraid of now, so many forms of persecution and intimidation to choose from - financial, physical, or even judicial.

"Even organizing a news conference is a problem for us. When agencies hear my name, or the name of our other leader, Eduard Limonov, they promptly turn us down," Kasparov added.

Once regarded a major force in society, the Russian media feel toothless these days.

Tatyana Protasenko, a senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said less than 10 percent of Russian journalists believe that the mass media in the country are powerful enough to force the authorities to respond.

Vladimir Osinsky, a senior lecturer in the journalism department of St. Petersburg State University, says a frequent complaint he hears from his former students is the lack of response to their work from those involved in decision-making.

"Stories on social issues, intended to help people, provoke no reaction from the authorities, thus making reporters feel worthless," Osinsky said. "The result is that journalists are trying to avoid writing about things they know should be changed but cannot help in changing. Compared to physical killings, it seems like a minor complaint hardly worth mentioning, but it makes so many strong and talented people depressed."

Renowned Italian journalist and writer Mario Corti, a former director of the Russian service of Radio Liberty, is convinced that although the field of independent journalism in Russia is shrinking, it is worth fighting to save what remains.

"What I see now is some media professionals making compromising decisions; stepping back from their principles to get higher ratings, avoiding controversial subjects, and generally choosing a quieter, safer life and perhaps better money for themselves," he said. "But as long as space remains for the free press - and this space still exists in Russia - journalists and editors need to strive to expand it. Undoubtedly there will be risks involved but there is no other way to preserve the field of independent journalism. Journalists themselves as a professional community share the responsibility for what is happening to the free media."

And official investigations into the deaths of journalists who challenge the state or the forces of law and order are surrounded by an extra layer of secrecy, say friends and relatives of victims.

Rimma Maximova said all she hears is "no new information." And Yury Shchekochikhin's son, Konstantin, says the family is still struggling to get access to vital medical files. Shchekochikhin's relatives and friends have also been battling to get clearance to conduct an independent medical examination of the journalist's body but have been repeatedly rebuffed.

Novaya Gazeta has been trying unsuccessfully to get the General Prosecutor's Office to launch an investigation into Shchekochikhin's death. In January, officials turned down the request again.

Next week Maximova will call the prosecutor's office once again about her son.

"It's very difficult to describe the feelings of fear and helplessness that I have to this very day, the sense that I can't help him," she said. "Maxim was an amazing journalist and he was a decent man. I would like to ask for more to be done. I want it to become more public. I would just like to ask that his fellow journalists should not be silent."

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