Starring Anna Politkovskaya: who was the murdered Russian journalist, about whom a film is being made abroad

Many people in our country know Anna Politkovska. The Russian journalist and human rights activist dedicated her life to serving people – no exaggeration. Anna is generally known all over the world – not just in her native country.

From a newspaper editor, she became a well-known journalist, whom everyone knew as a fighter for justice, a person who deals with the Chechen war, exposes corruption and other crimes of the authorities.

Anna traveled a lot to war zones, her work was really serious and dangerous. She provided help and support to women who lost children in the war, conducted her own investigation, wrote openly about the war, kidnapping and torture, sharply criticized the current government, her articles accused the police of killing civilians. In total, about 40 criminal cases were opened based on her investigative materials. Think!

In the mid-2000s, threats started coming to Politkovskaya. They tried to intimidate her and force her to stop reporting on the war in Chechnya. But it didn’t help: Anna didn’t back down even when they tried to poison her.

It all ended very tragically in the end. On October 7, 2006, Anna Politkovská was killed in the elevator of her house. Only now, 15 years later, has the culprit, i.e. the main orderer of the murder, been found. Lom-Ali Gaytukaev was detained for organizing the crime, but relatives and colleagues of Politkovskaya are sure that someone much more influential paid for the brutal retaliation.

In recent years, Anna worked in the editorial office of Novaya Gazeta. Her office is still intact, her colleagues often remember her, and an investigative documentary was even released on the 15th anniversary of her death.

Today, almost 16 years later, a new film is being made – now a feature film. Australian studio Luminosity Entertainment has committed to making a biographical film called “Matka Rusko” (Mother Russia). The film will be directed by James Strong.

Anna Politkovska will be played by the British actress Maxine Peake, best known from the TV series The Village and the movie The Club. Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov will be played by Belfast star Ciarán Hinds and Anna’s husband Jason Isaacs.

The plot of the film tells about Politkovská’s activities as a human rights activist, about the poisoning in 2004, when Anna flew to the captured school in Beslan, and about her work reporting on the war in Chechnya.

Filming is scheduled for summer 2022 and will take place in Great Britain and Latvia. But the date of the film’s premiere is still unknown – just as it is not clear whether the Russian audience will have the opportunity to see the film.

Also read: Interrupted journey: rare photos of Vera Glagoleva and little-known facts about her

Photo: Legion media