Another Kremlin Critic Assasinated

Posted on 7/15/2009 by Curzon

It’s become a common occurrence, an event so regularly reported that it’s not longer shocking. Another critic of the Kremlin, specifically with regards to Russia’s conduct in Chechnya, has been murdered. Natalya Estemirova, a human rights lawyer and activist who won numerous international awards for her work, was bundled into a car as she left her home on Wednesday, and her body was later found by the side of a road in the neighbouring province of Ingushetia, with two close-range gunshots to the head.

She was a single mother in her early 40s and the seventh opponent of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov to have been murdered in the past 10 months.

A Fistful of Euros comments:

It’ll be interesting to see where this goes. There have been some hints that the Kremlin is a little tired of Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov. He’s a thug and embarrassingly corrupt; more to the point, his one claim to legitimacy in the Kremlin’s eyes — bringing peace and order to Chechnya — is looking a little frayed around the edges, especially since a lot of the trouble in Chechnya just seems to have moved next door to Ingushetia. (Ms. Estemirova’s killers kidnapped her in Chechnya, but dumped her body over the border in Ingushetia. This looks like a crude attempt to blame the crime on the Ingush resistance. Which would be totally consistent with Kadyrov’s character and M.O.) In theory, the Kremlin could use this — the killing of a photogenic ethnic Russian woman — as a sharp stick to poke him.

But I doubt that will happen; while Medvedev may be getting a little weary of Kadyrov, there isn’t a plausible replacement on the horizon.

About Curzon

Lord George Nathaniel Curzon (1859 - 1925) entered the British House of Commons as a Conservative MP in 1886, where he served as undersecretary of India and Foreign Affairs. He was appointed Viceroy of India at the turn of the 20th century where he delineated the North West Frontier Province, ordered a military expedition to Tibet, and unsuccessfully tried to partition the province of Bengal during his six-year tenure. Curzon served as Leader of the House of Lords in Prime Minister Lloyd George's War Cabinet and became Foreign Secretary in January 1919, where his most famous act was the drawing of the Curzon Line between a new Polish state and Russia. His publications include Russia in Central Asia (1889) and Persia and the Persian Question (1892). In real life, "Curzon" is a US citizen from the East Coast who has been a financial analyst, freelance translator, and university professor; he is currently on assignment in Tokyo.
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2 Responses to Another Kremlin Critic Assasinated

  1. Carl says:
    7/17/2009 at 2:18 pm

    And still Europe says or does nothing. The EU’s collective silence on the Chechen issue, going on nearly 10 years now, is beyond pathetic.

    If ever someone deserved to be raped to death by the Sun, it’d be Kadyrov.

  2. Pingback: ComingAnarchy.com » Considering Extra-judicial Killings