The Murder of Natalia Estemirova
Natalia Estemirova, a Russian activist who had dedicated her life to uncovering serious violations against the people of Chechnya, was taken from a street near her home in the city of Grozny and murdered on July 15, 2009. She was seized in the morning while on her way to work, and her lifeless body, with gunshot wounds in the head and the chest, was found in the afternoon, in the woodland where it had been dumped. She was a leading member of Memorial, a Russian organization that promotes human rights, and she had been pursuing an ongoing investigation into the disappearance and murder of Chechen women, thereby putting herself, boldly and selflessly, into a fraught situation of fatal danger.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia and its surrounding territories have been crudely, and corruptly, ruled by a collection of gangsters and brutes. Vladimir Putin, a deeply repugnant figure who has wielded power over Russia since 2000, harshly enforcing his oppressive will as either President or Prime Minister, has favored a blunt policy of remorseless violence in Chechnya for many years, as a means of preventing Chechen citizens from following their own destiny. It is quite certain that authorities in Russian and Chechnya regarded Natalia Estemirova with strong enmity, knowing her to be in dogged opposition to their evil self-interest. Those same authorities are widely suspected of having a direct connection to her murder.
Natalia Estemirova was a woman of unusual fortitude. Through her years of determined activism, she provided a rare example of courage to the world, valiantly choosing to continue with her worthy activities, even in the face of repeated threats to her own safety. She was faithful and unbending in her cleareyed desire to keep doing what she firmly believed to be right. Although it remains a matter of profound sadness and utter shame that her life ended in a brazen murder, carried out by coldblooded killers whose names may never be known (although the shadow of Vladimir Putin's hand can be clearly perceived), her fearless actions on behalf of the truth in Chechnya demand to be remembered.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia and its surrounding territories have been crudely, and corruptly, ruled by a collection of gangsters and brutes. Vladimir Putin, a deeply repugnant figure who has wielded power over Russia since 2000, harshly enforcing his oppressive will as either President or Prime Minister, has favored a blunt policy of remorseless violence in Chechnya for many years, as a means of preventing Chechen citizens from following their own destiny. It is quite certain that authorities in Russian and Chechnya regarded Natalia Estemirova with strong enmity, knowing her to be in dogged opposition to their evil self-interest. Those same authorities are widely suspected of having a direct connection to her murder.
Natalia Estemirova was a woman of unusual fortitude. Through her years of determined activism, she provided a rare example of courage to the world, valiantly choosing to continue with her worthy activities, even in the face of repeated threats to her own safety. She was faithful and unbending in her cleareyed desire to keep doing what she firmly believed to be right. Although it remains a matter of profound sadness and utter shame that her life ended in a brazen murder, carried out by coldblooded killers whose names may never be known (although the shadow of Vladimir Putin's hand can be clearly perceived), her fearless actions on behalf of the truth in Chechnya demand to be remembered.