Memorial actions on the anniversary of Politkovskaya's murder took place under the supervision of security forces.

On the 20th anniversary of journalist Anna Politkovskaya's murder, memorial events took place in Moscow near the house where she lived and was shot. Police were on duty nearby, called by dissatisfied residents.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 7, 2025, the 19th anniversary of journalist Anna Politkovskaya's death, residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg brought flowers to her grave, to the office of "Novaya Gazeta" and to the memorial for victims of repression. Some of those convicted in the case of Politkovskaya's murder have already been released, while the customer has not yet been convicted, her colleagues reminded.

Today, on the 20th anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya's murder, people laid flowers at the house where she lived and was killed, reports the Telegram channel "Word for Defense".

"The memorial plaque on the house near the "Belorusskaya" metro station in Moscow, which was repeatedly destroyed last winter, is now missing: the arriving leader of "Yabloko", Nikolai Rybakov, attached a new temporary plaque," the publication states.

A police van was parked near the house, and two police officers were on duty, called by residents unhappy with the mourning events. "The same residents demanded that activists remove the words 'and was killed' from the memorial paper attached to the entrance," the message notes.

The publication is illustrated with a video clip showing the chairman of the "Yabloko" party, Nikolai Rybakov, attaching a plaque near the entrance that reads "In this house lived and worked journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Killed on October 7, 2006". The photos accompanying the publication also show an attached piece of paper with the inscription "In this house lived Anna Politkovskaya".

RusNews also reports that people today brought flowers and set up a photo of Politkovskaya. A correspondent from the publication confirmed that residents called the police. The publication also notes that the chairman of "Yabloko", Nikolai Rybakov, laid flowers at the house where Anna Politkovskaya was killed.

In his Telegram channel, as of 17:00 Moscow time, Rybakov has not commented on the event.

03:34 17.02.2026

Attacks on Politkovskaya's memory have defined the limits of civil expression

Any civil expression, whether a plaque in memory of Anna Politkovskaya or a sign "Last Address" of a victim of Stalinist repressions, provokes active aggression from supporters of the authorities in Russia. Impunity encourages spontaneous acts of vandalism, committed even without direct orders from above.

Let us remind you that on January 18, the memorial plaque, which had hung for almost 20 years on the wall of the house on Lesnaya Street in Moscow, where Anna Politkovskaya lived and was shot, was broken for the first time. Most of the temporary plaques installed by activists after that lasted less than a day. By March 19, in addition to the memorial plaque 30 temporary plaques had been installed.

All the plaques repeated the original text from the broken memorial plaque: "In this house lived and was villainously killed on October 7, 2006, Anna Politkovskaya". Representatives of an ultra-right organization, recognized as terrorist, claimed responsibility for the destruction of the first plaque. The man who broke the memorial plaque was fined 1000 rubles, while he denied guilt, claiming that the plaque "fell and broke by itself".

In January, one of the residents of the house admitted that she destroyed the temporary plaque. "Yes, I break it! Who gave you permission to hang it? She didn't live here, she had a secret apartment! This is my house! I didn't give permission!" she said. At the same time, the woman noted that she did not break the original memorial plaque, but the plaque "always bothered her".

On the fifth anniversary of Politkovskaya's murder, journalists and human rights defenders at an event in Tbilisi emphasized her contribution to the fight for freedom of speech, demanding to name the customers of her murder.

"Caucasian Knot" publishes materials dedicated to Politkovskaya on the thematic page "Politkovskaya and Estemirova", which collects materials about Anna's friend, journalist and human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, who was killed in 2009 and also dealt with the problems of Chechen residents.