The body of Pail Peloian was found by the side of a highway outside Moscow on 17 July. Peloian, an Armenian journalist, had worked for Armyanski Pereulok (Armenian Lane), a Moscow-based Russian-language magazine that focused on Armenian arts and literature. The journalist had been severely beaten and stabbed multiple times and had a cracked skull and bruised face. The police found money, documents, and a passport on the body, suggesting that the cause of death was not robbery.

Paul Klebnikov was shot four times by unidentified assailants as he left his office in Moscow on the evening of 9 July. Klebnikov, an American of Russian descent, was the editor of the Russian edition of Forbes Magazine. Local reports say shells of different calibre were found at the scene of the shooting, indicating that there were at least two attackers. Klebnikov was also the author of a controversial book that appeared in 2001 on Boris Berezovsky, one of the country’s most influential businessmen. Police in Moscow have reportedly launched an investigation into the murder.

Adlan Khasanov was killed in a bomb explosion in the Chechen capital of Grozny on 9 May. Khasanov, a cameraman for the British news agency Reuters, was one of six individuals, including Chechnya’s president Akhmad Kadyro, killed in the blast. The cameraman had been covering a Victory Day parade at Dynamo Stadium, an annual event which celebrates the Soviet Union’s 1945 victory over Nazi Germany. The bomb was placed in a concrete pillar under the VIP section of the stadium. Chechen police have reportedly detained five suspects allegedly linked to the blast.