However, there is no proof to support the any one of them. The widow of Litvinenko said that she is going to accuse the Russian government of the murder of her husband; with complete lack of evidences, and no minimally fair court would accept even to commence such a process. We do not know who killed Litvinenko, but it is fitting to ask a relevant question: why would the Russian government mount a complex, expensive and very risky, lone operation to kill an ex-spy who had already revealed all the secrets that he knew several years ago? It is difficult to imagine what the Kremlin gained with the death of Litvinenko.
 |
|
|
 |
| Eight years of Putin in the Russian Presidency: A balance |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The murder of opposing journalist Anna Politkovskaya, occurred in Moscow and this investigation depends only on the Russian authorities, the process is much more advanced, though still not completely solved. Politkovskaya was harshly criticizing Putin, principally during the second war in Chechnya, and she was killed inside her building, in October of 2006. There are 10 suspects in the crime, between them an official of the Department to Combat Organized Crime and a lieutenant-colonel of the FSB. The independent newspaper (and great critic of the Kremlin) where Politkovskaya was working, Novaya Gazeta, carried out parallel investigations and confirmed and coincided with those of the Russian Procuracy. They affirmed, however, that the intellectual author of the crime was still not found, and criticized the speed with which the Procuracy revealed information to the public, damaging the progress of the investigation. However, the Russian authorities can be easily excused of this mistake, since they are under strong international pressure to resolve the case as quickly as possible, and to prove that no high member of the government is involved.
The west also harshly criticizes the Russian authorities for restricting the work of the non governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country; to remove the independence of the judiciary; to take control of the media; and to nominate governors of the regions and republics, which should be independent. However, Nicolai Petro, an academic and ex-official of the State Department during the
administration of George H. W. Bush (1989-1993), wards off this criticism, and affirms that in fact none of them has any basis: to speak of restriction in a country in which the number of NGOs functioning surpassed 100.000, in the year 2000, and 600.000 in 2007.
Speak your mind on Pravda.ru forum
Roman Abramovich steps down as Chukotka governor
Forum
STATISTICS
Source: 
