Book Description

A Russian Diary is the book that Anna Politkovskaya had recently completed when she was murdered in a contract killing in Moscow. Covering the period from the Russian parliamentary elections of December 2003 to the tragic aftermath of the Beslan school siege in late 2005, A Russian Diary is an unflinching record of the plight of millions of Russians and a pitiless report on the cynicism and corruption of Vladimir Putin's Presidency.

About the Author

Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (30 August 1958 - 7 October 2006) was a Russian journalist, writer, and human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

Politkovskaya made her reputation reporting from Chechnya. Her post-1999 articles about conditions in Chechnya were turned into several books; Russian readers' main access to her investigations and publications was through Novaya gazeta, a Russian newspaper known for its often-critical investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. From 2000 onwards, she received numerous international awards for her work. In 2004, she published a personal account: Putin's Russia.

On 7 October 2006 she was shot and killed in the lift of her block of flats, an unsolved murder that continues to attract international attention.