Forbes Russia editor, murdered

From Forbes, Paul Klebnikov, 41, editor of Forbes Russia, was murdered in Moscow. He was reportedly shot four times as he left work and died shortly thereafter. From Reuters,

“He was the latest victim of post-Soviet city-center killings which have struck down officials, businessmen and journalists. . .

Post-Soviet public life has been marked by “contract murders,” particularly in the 1990s, of prominent figures singled out because of their business or political activities.

Recent victims have included human rights advocate and member of parliament Galina Starovoitova in 1998, Valentin Tsvetkov, governor of mineral-rich Magadan region in 2002 and liberal politician Sergei Yushenkov last year.

Forbes clashed with Berezovsky over Khlebnikov’s 2000 book entitled “Godfather of the Kremlin: Boris Berezovsky and the Looting of Russia.”

Berezovsky, who was close to Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first post-Soviet president but is now a vocal opponent of Vladimir Putin in exile, was accused in the book of corruption and funneling large sums out of Russia. He dropped a libel suit after Forbes withdrew some allegations.

Just this week Frontline had a report on the murder of another newspaper editor.