Is Journalism Worth Dying For__ Final Dispatches - Anna Politkovskaya [224]
Kadyrov, Ramzan: fought against Russia in the First Chechen War of 1994–6. Changed to support Russia in the Second War (1999 to the present). Appointed Prime Minister after the assassination of his father, Akhmat Kadyrov. Heads a paramilitary force.
Khodorkovsky, Mikhail: formerly Russia’s wealthiest oligarch and founder of Menatep Bank and Yukos oil company. Supported democratic opposition parties and proposed the introduction of transparent Western business practices. Fell foul of the Putin regime, was arrested in 2003 for alleged tax irregularities and sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment.
Maskhadov, Aslan: foremost Chechen military leader in the First Chechen War; elected President in 1997 and signed a peace treaty with Yeltsin in the Kremlin, but was unable to prevent a split between secular nationalists and Islamic fundamentalists. Killed by the FSB in 2005, apparently while attempting to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the conflict. His body was not returned to his family for burial.
Mironov, Sergey: since 2001 Speaker of the Soviet of the Federation, the upper house of the Russian Parliament. Since 2003 Chairman of the Russian Party of Life, which merged in 2006 with the Rodina and Russian Pensioners’ Parties to form the Russian Justice Party, which he leads. Pro-Putin.
Pamfilova, Ella: Duma Deputy in the 1990s and presidential candidate in 2000. Chairwoman of the Presidential Commission for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights.
Putin, Vladimir: resigned from the KGB in 1991 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Director of the FSB (1998–9) and succeeded Boris Yeltsin as President of the Russian Federation in 2000. Re-elected in 2004. His term as President expired in 2008 and he now serves as Prime Minister.
Saakashvili, Mikheil: leader of the 2003 bloodless Rose Revolution in Georgia, which obliged Eduard Shevardnadze to step down after elections considered to have been rigged. Became President of Georgia in 2004. Successfully defused separatist confrontations in Adjara and Abkhazia, but still has serious problems with South Ossetia.
Surkov, Vladislav: foremost Kremlin ideologist and spin doctor, who held senior positions in Menatep and Alfa Banks during the 1990s. Public-relations director of ORT television company (1998–9). Deputy Head of Putin’s Presidential Administration. Himself half-Chechen, Surkov is believed to be the main supporter within the Kremlin of Ramzan Kadyrov and the policy of Chechenisation of the war in Chechnya.
Yavlinsky, Grigoriy: author in 1990 of an unsuccessful program to transform Russia from a communist to a free-market economy in two years. Co-founded the Yabloko political party in 1995, which later attempted to impeach President Yeltsin. Refused to run for the presidency in 2004 on the grounds that Putin had rigged the 2003 parliamentary elections to ensure no Yabloko representation in the Duma.
Yeltsin, Boris: first President of the Russian Federation (1991–9). Succeeded in banning the Communist Party within the Russian Republic and dismantling the USSR in favor of a Commonwealth of Independent States. Believed to have started the First Chechen War in order to retain his personal power with Army backing, and to have handed over power to Vladimir Putin in 1999 to outflank his rivals’ bid for the presidency in 2000.
Zakayev, Akhmed: Prime Minister of the separatist Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, hero of the resistance in the First Chechen War, representative of Chechnya in 1996 at peace talks which led to a Russian withdrawal, then Deputy Prime Minister, later Foreign Minister and Prime Minister. Wounded early in the Second Chechen War (1999 to the present), Zakayev left Chechnya in 2000 and became the most prominent representative of the Maskhadov government in Western Europe. Granted political asylum by the UK in 2003 and lives in London.
Zhirinovsky, Vladimir: outspoken populist and ultra-nationalist politician, and leader of the Russian Liberal Democratic Party. Commented on the poisoning