You're reading: Putin’s Silenced Critics: A chronicle of people killed or who died suspiciously after challenging the Kremlin

Boris Nemtsov – Shot dead on Moscow’s Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge about 11 p.m. on Feb. 27. Russian investigators identified a former Chechen police officer with ties to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov as the mastermind, though Nemtsov’s supporters believe this is a cover-up. Nemtsov had been preparing to release a report on Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine before he died, and also was to meet with U.S. politicians in a bid to harshen sanctions against Russian officials.

Boris Berezovsky – Was found hanged in his bathroom in his home outside of London on March 23, 2013. A coroner could not say for certain whether Berezovsky had taken his own life or had been murdered. Berezovsky had been an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin ever since he came to power in 2000, repeatedly calling for his ouster.

Alexander Perepilichnyy – Mysteriously dropped dead while jogging near his home in Surrey, England on Nov. 10, 2012. Initially, two autopsies proved inconclusive and toxicologists did not find anything suspicious, but three years later, in 2015, a leading British botanist revealed that a rare poison had been found in his body. The poison, Gelsemium, is known for being used by Russian and Chinese contract murderers. Perepilichnyy’s friends believe he was killed by the Kremlin: he had provided Swiss prosecutors with evidence against top Russian officials implicated in tax fraud and theft from the state treasury.

Sergei Magnitsky – Died in Moscow’s Butyrka prison after nearly a year behind bars on charges his allies say were fabricated. Magnitsky had uncovered a massive, $230 million corruption scheme by Russian tax officials, police and other high-ranking officials. Investigators imprisoned him on the same charges he leveled against authorities. An independent investigation later found he was killed by abuse and deliberate negligence from prison officials. His death prompted a diplomatic scandal between Russia and the United States, with the U.S. government imposing sanctions against all Russian officials implicated in the case.

Natalya Estemirova – Was seen being abducted in Grozny, Chechnya on July 15, 2009 and later found dead, with bullet wounds to her head, in a ditch by the side of the road in Ingushetia. Estemirova was one of the most outspoken critics of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and had devoted her career to exposing human rights abuses in Chechnya. Investigators pinned the blame on a Chechen rebel, though Estemirova’s colleagues suspect a massive cover-up.

Anastasia Baburova – Shot dead in central Moscow on Jan. 19, 2009. A Novaya Gazeta reporter, she had investigated neo-Nazi groups in Russia. Her murderers were later identified as two members of a neo-Nazi group, though experts later said Russia’s security services likely played a part in the killing, since the assassin had used a gun with a silencer in central Moscow in broad daylight.

Stanislav Markelov – Shot dead along with Baburova on Jan. 19, 2009. Markelov was a prominent human rights lawyer who had worked with Natalya Estemirova on investigating human rights abuses in Chechnya and had represented journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was also murdered years earlier.

Anna Politkovskaya – Shot dead in her apartment building in Moscow on Oct. 7, 2006. The killer had been lying in wait for her near the elevator. An investigative reporter for Novaya Gazeta, she was a fierce critic of Putin, Kadyrov and the FSB, and had uncovered numerous human rights abuses in Chechnya. The mastermind behind her murder was never found.

Yury Shchekochikhin – Died suddenly and mysteriously on July 3, 2003, just days before a scheduled trip to the United States to meet with federal investigators to discuss money laundering by Russian officials in U.S. banks. Shchekochikhin, an investigative reporter for Novaya Gazeta, had made a name for himself by exposing corruption and organized crime.

Sergey Yushenkov – Gunned down near his home in Moscow on April 17, 2003. A liberal politician, Yushenkov had pushed for further investigation into the 1999 apartment bombings that paved the way for the Second Chechen War. Like Alexander Litvinenko, he believed Russia’s FSB had orchestrated the attacks in order to boost support for military action in Chechnya.

Vladimir Golovlyov – Shot dead while walking his dog in Moscow on Aug. 21, 2002. Golovlyov, a member of the Russian parliament and staunch critic of Putin, had co-founded an opposition party with Berezovsky and was set to serve as a state witness in corruption trials involving top officials. He himself was under investigation for the alleged misappropriation of state funds. Authorities described his murder as a contract killing.