An NS/WP representative commented on the destruction of the Politkovskaya plaque; the residents of the house decide whether they need a new one • The Insider • RIMA — Russian Independent Media Archive
The neo-Nazi group NS/WP claimed responsibility for the destruction of the memorial plaque of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow. This was reported by Novaya GazetaEurope and Important Stories with reference to publications in closed and public neo-Nazi Telegram channels.
In a statement, NS/WP, which uses the name Four Letters Crew (FLC) after a number of convictions, said the attack was a “tribute to the memory” of the BORN group. The incident is associated with the anniversary of the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova on January 19, 2009. A statement on behalf of FLC was made by a neo-Nazi nicknamed Red Laughter. Under this name hides Roman (Zukhel) Zheleznov, an ally of the nationalist Maxim Martsinkevich (Tesak). Zheleznov has left Russia and is believed to be coordinating attacks from abroad. The editors of Novaya Gazeta and the family of Anna Politkovskaya previously demanded that a criminal case be opened for vandalism.
A representative of the Central Field Headquarters NS/WP Shum explained to The Insider that the performers are not members of their organization, but comrades who share their beliefs:
“There is NS/WP as an association of specific people, and there is a movement - those who want to associate themselves with us, expressing solidarity in different ways to the best of their ability. We support those who act in accordance with our ethical principles. For obvious reasons, we will not say that the person who did this is our comrade-in-arms, so that if he is detained he will not receive additional qualifications. Specifically, the Novaya Gazeta publication has been our enemy since the 2000s. But the main evil, undoubtedly, is the current Russian anti-Russian government,” Shum told The Insider.
Answering a question about the possible involvement of representatives of the SERB movement in the destruction of the sign, he neither confirmed nor denied this version. According to journalist Sergei Parkhomenko, in 2017, a member of this organization, former municipal deputy Igor Brumel, broke a memorial plaque to Boris Nemtsov.
A plaque in memory of Anna Politkovskaya was placed at the entrance to the house on Lesnaya Street, where she was killed on October 7, 2006. According to Novaya Gazeta, a message in neo-Nazi public pages about the destruction of the memorial appeared on the night of January 19 - approximately seven hours after the incident. The post claimed that the sign was destroyed by “initiatives.” There were also reports of posters with insults and neo-Nazi symbols being posted near Politkovskaya’s house and on Prechistenka, near the scene of the murder of Markelov and Baburova.
Photo: Elena Kostyuchenko / Twitter (X)
After the destruction of the memorial plaque, activists of the Civic Initiative party installed a temporary plaque. However, the very next day she disappeared. Residents of the entrance told The Insider that they do not know the exact reason, but believe that the sign could have been removed by utility services - after a discussion in the house chat, where they argued about the legality of the installation without the consent of the apartment owners. There were no fragments in place, as in the case of the first tablet. People left flowers and lamps near the entrance all day today. They were not removed, but by evening they were scattered by the wind.
Some owners told The Insider they now want to hold a general meeting of residents of the entire building to decide whether a new permanent sign is needed. At the same time, some residents admit that the old board could have been damaged accidentally - for example, while removing snow from the roof. Some are in favor of installing a memorial plaque. However, there are those in the house who are against memorials on the facade. One of the owners of the apartment in this entrance told The Insider about this. She was one of the first to discover the body of Anna Politkovskaya.
According to her, no one from the police interviewed the neighbors. There were no CCTV cameras installed above the place where the signs were attached.
“We believe that the new sign was removed by the utility workers, because in the morning there was an active discussion in the house chat that they had no right to hang it up without the consent of the apartment owners. <…> The owners agreed that our entire building 8/12 needs to hold a general meeting of owners - and decide whether we need a new permanent sign. <…> Personally, I think that our house, of course, needs a plaque in memory of Anna Politkovskaya. As for who could have broken the old sign, <...> it fell and broke itself, from old age. <…> In this case, we are definitely not looking for vandals, hooligans, provocateurs, criminals.
Despite the statement by Novaya Gazeta that the editors of the publication will seek to initiate a criminal case, the district police officer did not come to us today, and no one except you, who does not live in the house, talked to us about this.”
“If Khasis had come, there would have been a stabbing.”
Despite the situation with the sign and possible threats from the security forces, an action in memory of Markelov and Baburova took place in Moscow; it takes place annually on Prechistenka Street, near house No. 1, where they were shot. This year the event went smoothly. Unlike last year, members of neo-Nazi groups kept a greater distance from anti-fascists - almost on the corner of the house - and did not provoke conflict, as had happened before. The security forces did not detain anyone; only a few officers were on duty at the scene.
Paddy wagons and iron barriers, which in recent years were usually installed at this event, were not present at all this time. “There’s so much going on in Moscow today, you can’t get enough bars for everyone,” one police officer explained to The Insider. “And there is still one paddy wagon here, but this time we decided to park it in the courtyards so that it would not be visible from the place of the protest itself and would not confuse citizens.”
Evgenia Khasis, recently released from prison, an accomplice of the neo-Nazi Nikita Tikhonov who killed Markelov and Baburova, did not come to the rally. Anti-fascists said that if she had come even with the intention of laying flowers and publicly repenting right at the scene of the murder, then she would not have been allowed to get close to the portraits of the murdered, and that “if she had come, there would definitely have been a stabbing.”
