Anastasia Baburova - Death and Investigation

Death and Investigation

Baburova became the fourth Novaya Gazeta journalist to be killed since 2000. According to Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, the details of the murder indicate the involvement of Russian state security services.

At first it was reported that Baburova had been wounded in an attempt to detain Markelov's killer, however later Russian law enforcement authorities declared that Baburova was shot in the back of her head. Baburova died a few hours after the attack at a Moscow hospital.

Then President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko sent her parents a condolence telegram on 23 January 2009. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave his condolences 6 days later.

On 26 January 2009, Baburova was buried in the central city cemetery of her home town of Sevastopol.

In November 2009, Russian authorities declared the end of the criminal investigation. The murder suspects were 29-year-old Nikita Tikhonov and his girlfriend, 24-year-old Eugenia Khasis, members of a radical neo-nazi nationalistic group. According to investigators, Tikhonov was the one who committed the murder, while Khasis reported to him, by cell phone, the movements of Markelov and Baburova, right before the assault. The motive of the murder was revenge for Markelov's prior work as a lawyer in the interests of anti-fascist activists. The murder suspects were arrested, and were reported to have confessed. In May 2011, Tikhonov was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Khasis was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

According to Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, the details of the murder indicate involvement of Russian state security services. He stated:

“In the opinion of the Novaya Gazeta staff, of which I am a member, the Russian security services or rogue elements within these services are the prime suspects in the murders of Baburova and Markelov. The boldness of the attack by a single gunman in broad daylight in the center of Moscow required professional preliminary planning and surveillance that would necessitate the security services, which closely control that particular neighborhood, turning a blind eye. The use of a gun with a silencer does not fit with the usual pattern of murders by nationalist neo-Nazi youth groups in Russia, which use homemade explosives, knives, and group assaults to beat up and stab opponents to death.”