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Then something odd happened. Documents began disappearing from the case file, witnesses were afraid to give evidence, and the ruling that Anna Politkovskaya should be classed as a victim (she had after all received a death threat) was effectively overturned. To crown all this absurdity, the suspect Lapin was released upon signing an undertaking not to leave Nizhnevartovsk.

Novaya gazeta has written on more than one occasion about this scandalous affair, in which, with variable success, a struggle is being waged against lawlessness. Here is the latest document we have received:

Notification

I hereby inform you that your application of October 26, 2001, addressed to the Head of the Directorate of Interior Affairs of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region regarding receipt by the offices of Novaya gazeta on September 15, 2001 by electronic mail of a message regarding the departure for Moscow of an armed agent of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Interior Affairs Department (personal code name, “The Cadet”), who had undergone sniper and sabotage training, was examined and on December 14, 2001 instigation of a criminal case was refused.

On July 29, 2002, the Prosecutor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region withdrew the directive refusing to instigate a criminal case and a criminal case has now been instigated in view of an apparent crime as defined under Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (threat of murder or causing serious bodily harm).

Investigator of the Prosecutor’s Office, Nizhnevartovsk V.A. Churikov

This is one more serious crime linked with The Cadet which is being investigated, and we can only welcome this victory for the law. The question remains, however, whether The Cadet, who supposedly “does not pose any threat to society” and is currently at large, represents a threat to Anna Politkovskaya, whom he has threatened to kill. And what about the other witnesses and victims?

We believe the answer can only be “Yes, unquestionably.” We would like to know the view of the Prosecutor’s Office. Novaya gazeta

“STOP WORRYING …”: THE CADET ADMITS HIS GUILT AND TRIES TO APOLOGIZE

December 5, 2002

You can’t take a mentally ill person to court. You have to pity a sick person and get treatment for him. Some people may disagree, but that is what I believe.

Sergey Lapin, whom readers of our newspaper are more familiar with by his Chechen nickname of The Cadet, has written to our editorial office. He reads Novaya gazeta, and accordingly we are publishing this Reader’s Letter.

Moscow

To A. Politkovskaya

Dear Anna,

I read a piece about myself in the last issue of Novaya gazeta, No. 36, the one addressed to the Prosecutor. “The lives of Novaya gazeta journalists are again threatened” and that was because of my letters from the pre-trial detention facility in Pyatigorsk and I have altered my decision now. That is, I have changed my mind about shooting you with a sniper’s rifle. Specially because I haven’t got one and it would be silly for me to pay for one just because of you. Stop worrying I don’t need you. Which is what I told the court and so they let me out as not a danger to society. I wrote because I had nothing to do and it was a joke. I am not such a complete fool to write letters with death threats to you and report my exact location. I was joking so I can just write you another letter and you can even print it in your “column” so everyone can read it and see my literary talent. It can be part 2 of my letters to you. I think it reminds me of somebody but perhaps it only seems that way to me because this is all my own literary work, and not anybody else’s. Anyway The Cadet writes

REPENTANCE

I am writing you this letter

Because I want you now to see

That I don’t care if I’m your debtor

Or if you look down on me

At first I thought I’d just keep mum

And you’d have never known of that

You’d have thought I had gone dumb

But then I thought that was just sad

And so