Nadezhda Chaikova

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Nadezhda Chaikova
Надежда Чайкова
Chechen Republic
NationalityRussian Federation
Occupationjournalist
Known forwar reports for Obshchaya Gazeta

Nadezhda Chaikova (Russian: Надежда Чайкова; January 23, 1963 – 1996) was a correspondent for the Russian weekly Obshchaya Gazeta. A colleague of Anna Politkovskaya, she had traveled frequently to Chechnya and neighbouring regions. Near the end of the war, in 1996, she was kidnapped and killed by unidentified gunmen.[2]

Biography

Nadezhda Chaikova was born on January 23, 1963, in Moscow.

Before her university studies, she was working as a collector in the Moscow's Start factory of semiconductor devices as well as a nurse, hospital reception registrar, inspector in Moscow medical services.

Her son Denis was born in 1989.[1] In the same year, Chaikova, a historian-orientalist by education, graduated from the historical faculty of Moscow State University. Afterwards, Chaikova studied in the Graduate School of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.[1]

Before coming to Obshchaya Gazeta in 1995,

ITAR-TASS and RIA Novosti.[4]

North Caucasus

Chaikova worked at Obshchaya Gazeta since October 1995. There, her stories were mostly travel reports from the

Chechen Republic.[3]

During the war in Chechnya, Chaikova was known for her

Sernovodsk.[5] Shortly before her death, Chaikova managed to film the devastation and civilian victims in the wake of the Russian raid on the village of Samashki.[6]

Death

On March 20, 1996, Chaikova disappeared in Chechnya while on assignment; she was last seen alive near the village of

Makarov PM handgun while she was in kneeling position.[2][4]

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the killing may have been work of Russian federal troops angered at her work, in particular the filming of Samashki, or might have been ordered by the Chechen rebels acting on rumors spread by the Russian FSB security service that she was a spy. The federal government never investigated the murder,[2][6] as the criminal inquiry was soon halted by the federal Russian prosecutor's office "for lack of evidence and substance of a crime."[7] However, according to Russian special services in 2002, Chaykova was killed by people from the Department of State Security of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.[8][9] Chaikova herself had written a letter in which she wrote: "In case I am killed or wounded, you should blame the Russian army or the Russian security services. Please do not put the blame for this on the so-called 'Dudaev's fighters'". She also did leave a videotape, later smuggled out of Chechnya and delivered to her newspaper, on which she revealed how the FSB had been repeatedly trying to turn her into an informant and that she had refused to comply. Death threats then began and soon after this she was dead.[7][10]

Her killing was strongly condemned by the

Federico Mayor: "It is with profound indignation that I have learned of the assassination of Nadezhda Chaikova. Her name must now be listed with those of other martyrs of independent Russian media like Vladislav Listyev and Dimitri Kholodov. In strongly condemning this murder, I remind all those who have recourse to violence that it has never solved problems but only makes them worse. I call on Russian and international public opinion to defend journalists working for independent and pluralistic media, for the sustainable development of free societies."[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Наталия Ростова, при поддержке фонда "Среда" и Института Кеннана. Расцвет российских СМИ: Первая телевизионная война". yeltsinmedia.com (in Russian). Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Attacks on the Press in 1996 - Russia (UNHCR)
  3. ^ a b "Наталия Ростова, при поддержке фонда "Среда" и Института Кеннана; Расцвет российских СМИ: Выходит спецвыпуск "Общей газеты", посвященный памяти Надежды Чайковой". yeltsinmedia.com (in Russian). Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  4. ^ a b (in Russian) Чайкова Надежда - MEMORIUM
  5. ^ "Убита обозреватель "Общей газеты"". Коммерсантъ (in Russian). April 13, 1996. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Special Report Russia: Press Climate Archived December 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (CPJ)
  7. ^ a b Katzarova, Mariana. "How to Honor Anna Politkovskaya". Reach all women in war (RAW). Archived from the original on October 8, 2011.
  8. ^ (in Russian) Боевики готовились к захвату атомной подлодки Archived February 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ (in Russian) Путь в никуда (дружба с террористами к добру не ведет Archived March 7, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Трушин, Александр (February 17–23, 2000). "Как они зачищают нас". ПУБЛИКАЦИИ О КОНФЛИКТЕ В ЧЕЧНЕ (in Russian). Общая газета. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  11. ^ Director-general voices support for democratic reforms in Russia (UNESCO)
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