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| Russian journalists mourn fallen colleague five years after attack | Russian journalists mourn fallen colleague five years after attack |
| (30 days later) | |
| The open casket lay covered in flowers on the stage of Moscow's House of Journalists. One by one, reporters climbed to the stage in silence to say goodbye to another of their own. | The open casket lay covered in flowers on the stage of Moscow's House of Journalists. One by one, reporters climbed to the stage in silence to say goodbye to another of their own. |
| Mikhail Beketov's tireless reporting on Khimki, a quiet Moscow suburb riven by corruption, lawlessness and environmental ruin, had earned him many enemies in the local government and beyond. His car had been set on fire, and his dog killed and left on his doorstep. | Mikhail Beketov's tireless reporting on Khimki, a quiet Moscow suburb riven by corruption, lawlessness and environmental ruin, had earned him many enemies in the local government and beyond. His car had been set on fire, and his dog killed and left on his doorstep. |
| "He was threatened repeatedly," Yevgeniya Chirikova, a leading environmental and opposition activist in Khimki, told the mourners gathered on Thursday. "They called and said: we won't just kill you, we will mutilate you." | "He was threatened repeatedly," Yevgeniya Chirikova, a leading environmental and opposition activist in Khimki, told the mourners gathered on Thursday. "They called and said: we won't just kill you, we will mutilate you." |
| In November 2008 Beketov was attacked by a gang of men wielding clubs, and left for dead. For two days he lay unconscious in the snowy garden outside his home. By the time neighbours found him, sepsis had set in, exacerbating his wounds. Doctors amputated a leg and three fingers, and he lay in a coma for months. | In November 2008 Beketov was attacked by a gang of men wielding clubs, and left for dead. For two days he lay unconscious in the snowy garden outside his home. By the time neighbours found him, sepsis had set in, exacerbating his wounds. Doctors amputated a leg and three fingers, and he lay in a coma for months. |
| Five years on Beketov appeared to be achieving the impossible. He was learning to walk and continued to smile, though he could no longer speak. But the scars of the attack ran deep. | Five years on Beketov appeared to be achieving the impossible. He was learning to walk and continued to smile, though he could no longer speak. But the scars of the attack ran deep. |
| On Tuesday he choked on a piece of food, a consequence of heavy internal scarring from a tracheotomy performed to save his life after the attack. He stopped breathing. "Mikhail Beketov died yesterday. He was killed five years ago," read a headline in the Russian magazine Snob. Beketov was 55. | On Tuesday he choked on a piece of food, a consequence of heavy internal scarring from a tracheotomy performed to save his life after the attack. He stopped breathing. "Mikhail Beketov died yesterday. He was killed five years ago," read a headline in the Russian magazine Snob. Beketov was 55. |
| The mourners who gathered at the House of Journalists, based in a fading 19th-century mansion in central Moscow, cried little. They were outraged, but not shocked. There have been other fallen colleagues: Anna Politkovskaya, shot dead in 2006 after devoting her life to reporting on Chechnya; Ivan Safronov, who wrote on military affairs for the Kommersant newspaper; and many dozens more. | The mourners who gathered at the House of Journalists, based in a fading 19th-century mansion in central Moscow, cried little. They were outraged, but not shocked. There have been other fallen colleagues: Anna Politkovskaya, shot dead in 2006 after devoting her life to reporting on Chechnya; Ivan Safronov, who wrote on military affairs for the Kommersant newspaper; and many dozens more. |
| Oleg Kashin, a prominent journalist, lay carnations on Beketov's coffin and paused there for a while. In November 2010 he was brutally beaten outside his home. Like Beketov, he had a finger amputated, and his attackers were not found. Despite promises of thorough investigations, arrests and punishment, those who attack journalists rarely are. | Oleg Kashin, a prominent journalist, lay carnations on Beketov's coffin and paused there for a while. In November 2010 he was brutally beaten outside his home. Like Beketov, he had a finger amputated, and his attackers were not found. Despite promises of thorough investigations, arrests and punishment, those who attack journalists rarely are. |
| "He died without seeing justice," a tearful Elena Kostyuchenko, a journalist for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, said of Beketov. She recounted a conversation with a friend: "She said Khimki is like Chechnya. For the Russian press to be silent on Chechnya, it was enough to kill Politkovskaya. For the Russian press to be silent on Khimki, it's enough to kill Beketov." | "He died without seeing justice," a tearful Elena Kostyuchenko, a journalist for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, said of Beketov. She recounted a conversation with a friend: "She said Khimki is like Chechnya. For the Russian press to be silent on Chechnya, it was enough to kill Politkovskaya. For the Russian press to be silent on Khimki, it's enough to kill Beketov." |
| Located just outside Moscow, Khimki was once a leafy suburb bordered by a massive oak forest. In 2006 the Kremlin announced that it would build a new road between Moscow and St Petersburg through the forest. Locals were outraged. | Located just outside Moscow, Khimki was once a leafy suburb bordered by a massive oak forest. In 2006 the Kremlin announced that it would build a new road between Moscow and St Petersburg through the forest. Locals were outraged. |
| Beketov, who ran a small local newspaper called Khimkinskaya Pravda, took up the cause. He began publishing reports detailing alleged corruption linked to the £5.2bn project. "No one wanted to write about it," Chirikova said. "He was the first. Six years ago, I didn't know corruption could reach beyond the mayor. He took off my rose-coloured glasses. He said: look for it." | Beketov, who ran a small local newspaper called Khimkinskaya Pravda, took up the cause. He began publishing reports detailing alleged corruption linked to the £5.2bn project. "No one wanted to write about it," Chirikova said. "He was the first. Six years ago, I didn't know corruption could reach beyond the mayor. He took off my rose-coloured glasses. He said: look for it." |
| In endless articles and opinion pieces Beketov harshly criticised the town's mayor, Vladimir Strelchenko, over the alleged corruption and his support for the road scheme. "He said: if anything ever happens to me, look inside the Khimki administration," Chirikova said. | In endless articles and opinion pieces Beketov harshly criticised the town's mayor, Vladimir Strelchenko, over the alleged corruption and his support for the road scheme. "He said: if anything ever happens to me, look inside the Khimki administration," Chirikova said. |
| Strelchenko has denied having anything to do with the attack or corruption. He resigned last year for unrelated reasons. | Strelchenko has denied having anything to do with the attack or corruption. He resigned last year for unrelated reasons. |
| The Khimki activists, led by Chirikova, have kept up their campaign against the road, although construction continues apace. They have accused Vinci, a French company, of taking part in the project and claim to have uncovered an offshore scheme that shows that a wealthy man close to Vladimir Putin is involved. | The Khimki activists, led by Chirikova, have kept up their campaign against the road, although construction continues apace. They have accused Vinci, a French company, of taking part in the project and claim to have uncovered an offshore scheme that shows that a wealthy man close to Vladimir Putin is involved. |
| Yet the noise around Khimki has died down. Chirikova put it down to Beketov's inability to work and, now, his death. "He was the backbone of Khimki," she told the mourners. "He is irreplaceable." | Yet the noise around Khimki has died down. Chirikova put it down to Beketov's inability to work and, now, his death. "He was the backbone of Khimki," she told the mourners. "He is irreplaceable." |
| Speaker after speaker at the commemoration ceremony on Thursday called for Beketov's attackers to be found. One woman was more sanguine: "The journalist profession is the scariest – it is deadly dangerous," she told the crowd. "A government that doesn't need truth is a bandit government. They are not going to look for the killers. The killers are in the Kremlin." | Speaker after speaker at the commemoration ceremony on Thursday called for Beketov's attackers to be found. One woman was more sanguine: "The journalist profession is the scariest – it is deadly dangerous," she told the crowd. "A government that doesn't need truth is a bandit government. They are not going to look for the killers. The killers are in the Kremlin." |
| Beketov was buried in Khimki. | Beketov was buried in Khimki. |
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