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Page 6 of 9 Maxim Sokolov became known working at ‘Kommersant’ during the reign of Vladimir Yakovlev, back when it was one of the best and most demanding democratic publications in the country, and Sokolov’s reputation was correspondingly great. Even back in 2000, during the launch of his book of articles, the most democratic people were among the audiences that he now denounces. Mikhail Leontiev began his journalistic career in the most non-pro-Yeltsin newspaper, ‘Nezavisimaya Gazeta’, but he became famous when he began to do commentary on ‘First Channel’ television under the patronage of Boris Berezovsky. Sergei Dorenko, who was closest to the oligarch, told how Mikhail Leontiev wrote down Berezovsky’s thoughts and directions in a notebook while sitting at the oligarch’s bedside in the hospital. After Berezovsky’s disgrace and exile, Leontiev became the mouthpiece of the current government.
Could it be that such an exorbitant a passion was generated by their violent rejection of their own pasts? There is no greater saint than yesterday’s sinner. There is no one more orthodox than yesterday’s heretic. There is no greater blasphemer than yesterday’s minister.
Believe me, I do not care a whit about the spiritual and political evolution of these characters. That is their personal business. In the end everyone changes with the years, and his or her views change. They have that right.
But my point is to remind you that it is unbecoming to indulge in such an accusatory passion, unbecoming to stigmatize Anna Politkovskaya’s supporters over her unburied body. It is not Christian, and it is not humane. The State Order, law and order, stability, and even the chain of command, do not require such a defense.
And I save the worst for last. I do not understand why President Putin’s statement did not lead to disturbances in the country. Maybe it was because they tried to hush it up, or perhaps people were simply in shock, like me. At a press conference in Germany, President Putin said: “For the existing government… Politkovskaya’s murder caused much more harm than did her writings.”
So, Anna Politkovskaya caused “harm” with her writings, but even more “harm” with her death.
Lord, forgive them all, if you can.
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