- Sergei Yushenkov
Sergei Yushenkov (Сергей Юшенков) (1950-2003) was a liberal
Russia n politician well known for his uncompromising struggle fordemocracy , rapidfree market economic reforms, and higherhuman rights standards in Russia. He was assassinated onApril 17 ,2003 , just hours after registering his political party to participate in the December 2003 parliamentary elections.Political career
Yushenkov was an elected member of all Russian Parliaments from 1989 to 2003. During the
Soviet coup attempt of 1991 , he organized the "living chain" of civilians who came to protect their Parliament inMoscow , and he successfully negotiated with military personnel sent to storm the building.As a person with a military background, Yushenkov was the strongest proponent of reform in the
Russian Army , and he campaigned tirelessly to abolishconscription , reduce the size of the Army, and protect all rights of military personnel who suffered from abuse anddedovshchina . Yushenkov was a prominent critic of theChechen War s. He argued that Russian Army operates in Chechnya (a part of Russia) illegally.His political party,
Liberal Russia , was officially formed onOctober 22 ,2002 . The other initial organizers of this party before its registration wereVladimir Golovlev , Victor Pokhmelkin, and controversial businessmanBoris Berezovsky . Vladimir Golovlev was assassinated onAugust 21 ,2002 (his killers were never found), andBoris Berezovsky was expelled, presumably on the request of State authorities who refused to register the party, and possibly due to tensions between the initial organizers of the party [http://grani.ru/Politics/Russia/Parties/m.64562.html] .Kovalev commission
Yushenkov was vice chairman of the
Sergei Kovalev commission formed to investigate theRussian apartment bombings [http://www.eng.terror99.ru/publications/107.htm] , and his views that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) had orchestrated the bombings to generate public support for the Chechen War were similar to those of journalistDavid Satter , aJohns Hopkins University andHoover Institute scholar.David Satter. Darkness at Dawn: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State. Yale University Press. 2003. ISBN 0-300-09892-8.] During his visit to theUnited States in April 2002, Yushenkov described a secret order issued byBoris Yeltsin to initiate theSecond Chechen War , according to Alexander Goldfarb [http://www.hro.org/editions/yushenkov/02_06_03.htm Sergei Yushenkov: That was a coup in 1999] .] The order was issued in response to a demand from 24 Russian governors that the then-unpopular Yeltsin should transfer all state powers to Prime MinisterVladimir Putin . Yeltsin's order was datedSeptember 23 ,1999 , the same day that FSB operatives were caught red-handed while planting a bomb in an apartment complex in the city ofRyazan (after which the sequence of bombings in several Russian cities suddenly stopped). The next day, Vladimir Putin began the military campaign inChechnya . According to Yushenkov, Putin's rise to power represented a successfulcoup d'état organized by the FSB.Investigation of Moscow theatre hostage crisis
Yushenkov also investigated the alleged involvement of the FSB in staging the
Moscow theatre hostage crisis through theiragent provocateur Khanpash Terkibaev , the only hostage taker who left the theater alive and allegedly guided the terrorists to the theater. In the beginning of April 2003 former FSBAleksander Litvinenko gave information about Terkibaev ("the Terkibaev file") to Sergei Yushenkov when he visited London. Yushenkov passed this file toAnna Politkovskaya
Alex Goldfarb and Marina Litvinenko. "Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB", The Free Press (2007) ISBN 1-416-55165-4 ] . A few days later Yushenkov was assassinated. Terkibaev was killed later in a car crash in Chechnya.Assassination
Sergei Yushenkov was shot dead near his house in
Moscow onApril 17 ,2003 , just hours after finally obtaining the registrations needed for his Liberal Russia party to participate in the December 2003 parliamentary elections in 55 regions. His last known public utterance was "Registration has been completed." [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20030419/ai_n12693024] .Mikhail Trepashkin believed that Yushenkov was murdered because he was a leader of an opposition party that openly challenged the power of the FSB and Russian authorities. Moreover, Yushenkov promised voters an independent investigation of theRussian apartment bombings as a key issue of his election campaign (an interview of Trepashkin can be seen in directorAndrei Nekrasov 's documentary "Disbelief" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389929/] , [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7658755847655738553 Google Video] ). Just before his death, Sergei Yushenkov received threats from a high-ranking FSB general, Aleksander Mikhailov, according to Grigory Pasko [http://grani.ru/Projects/Yushenkov/m.30073.html] .Investigation
Four people have been convicted during a controversial trial for the murder of Sergei Yushenkov and are currently serving prison sentences. Most prominent among them is
Mikhail Kodanev , a former co-chairman of the Liberal Russia party organized by Yushenkov himself. During the trial, Mikhail Kodanev strenuously claimed to be innocent. He later tried to commit suicide and was placed in the FSB's specialLefortovo prison . According to attorney Henry Reznick, Kodanev was convicted solely on the basis of the false testimony of another convicted suspect (Alexander Vinnik) who made a series of contradictory statements, including claims that Yushenkov was killed by the government. [ [http://grani.ru/Society/Law/m.63911.html Henry Reznik: Kodanev have been slandered] ru icon,Grani.ru , March 17, 2004. [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://grani.ru/Society/Law/m.63911.html Computer translation] .]Critics also insisted that the political murders of two chairmen of the Liberal Russia party should have been considered as the same case in the court, which would make it clear that some of the suspects were wrongly accused. [ [http://grani.ru/Projects/Yushenkov/m.67481.html On April 17, the last romantic died] ru icon,
Grani.ru , Vladimir Korsunsky, April 17, 2004. [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://grani.ru/Projects/Yushenkov/m.67481.html Computer translation] .] Some observers noted that Kodanev was relatively unknown in Russian politics until he was named to Yushenkov's party byBoris Berezovsky , ostensibly to make a mockery ofVladimir Putin (Kodanev was nicknamed "Putin" because he looks very much like the President). Some Russian media claimed that it wasBoris Berezovsky who organized the murder of Sergei Yushenkov through his agent Mikhail Kodanev.Former FSB officer
Aleksander Litvinenko suggested that Sergei Yushenkov could be killed because he knew that FSB organized theMoscow theatre hostage crisis , [ [http://lenta.ru/russia/2003/04/25/litvinenko/ Litvinenko: Yushenkov was killed for his investigation of Nord-Ost] ru icon,Lenta.ru , April 25, 2003. [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://lenta.ru/russia/2003/04/25/litvinenko/ Computer translation] .] consistent with a previous report by journalistAnna Politkovskaya . [ [http://www.hro.org/war/nord/04_03/28-1_04_03.htm#su GRU and Nord-Ost?] ru icon,Anna Politkovskaya , April 2003. [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.hro.org/war/nord/04_03/28-1_04_03.htm Computer translation] .]References
External links
= English =* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2957077.stm Russian liberal deputy shot dead] - BBC News
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2957823.stm Yushenkov, a Russian idealist] - BBC News
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20030419/ai_n12693024 Obituary] - "The Independent"
* [http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=16&&issue_id=621 Moscow: Death of a deputy] - The Jamestown Foundation
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2958997.stm Russian MP's death sparks storm] - BBC News
* [http://eng.terror99.ru/publications/092.htm Russia buries slain deputy as concern mounts over political killings] - Agence France-Presse
* [http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/archive/2003-04/a-2003-04-23-2-1.cfm?renderforprint=1&textonly=1&&TEXTMODE=1&CFID=65026161&CFTOKEN=46301489 Russian deputy assassinated] - Voice of America News
* [http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/10/d08564ab-85e6-4375-94ac-921638eab299.html Russia: High-Profile Killings, Attempted Killings In The Post-Soviet Period] , "Radio Free Europe ",October 19 ,2006
= Russian =* [http://grani.ru/Projects/Yushenkov/m.30073.html Sergei Yushenkov knew that he was a target of FSB assassination]
* [http://grani.ru/Projects/Yushenkov/ Publications about the murder of Sergei Yushenkov]
* [http://www.svoboda.org/programs/hr/2003/hr.021803.asp Interview with Radio Free Europe]
* [http://archive.svoboda.org/programs/hr/2002/hr.031302.asp Yushenkov on the Russian apartment bombings]
* [http://terror99.ru/commission.htm List of members of Kovalev commission]
* [http://ys.novayagazeta.ru/text/2003-04-21.shtml Yuri Shchekochikhin on the murder of Sergei Yushenkov]
* [http://grani.ru/Events/Terror/m.33541.html Opinions about death of Yushenkov]See also
*
Human rights in Russia
*Yuri Shchekochikhin
*Sergei Kovalev
*Anna Politkovskaya
*Alexander Litvinenko
*Galina Starovoitova
*Artyom Borovik
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