A makeshift memorial dedicated to journalist Anna Politkovskaya has been destroyed outside the Moscow building on Lesnaya Street where she lived and was killed. The memorial had appeared the previous day, on the 20th anniversary of her murder.

On 7 October, Muscovites brought flowers to the building and installed several commemorative plaques. By today, they had disappeared. For some time, only a bouquet and a note reading “Love is stronger than fear” remained on the wall, but they were later removed as well.

The day before, one of the plaques was installed outside the building by Nikolai Rybakov, leader of the Yabloko party. He recalled that the plaque had been destroyed more than ten times during the winter, but activists restored the memorial each time.

On the anniversary of the journalist’s murder, two police officers were stationed near the entrance to the building where she lived, while a police van was parked nearby. Law enforcement officers stopped at least one person who laid flowers, but released them shortly afterwards. Those who gathered were asked not to form a crowd or block the road.

Anna Politkovskaya was killed on 7 October 2006 in the entrance hall of her building on Lesnaya Street. She spent many years reporting on the war in Chechnya and widespread human rights violations. The perpetrators and organisers of the murder were convicted, but the person who ordered the killing has still not been officially identified.