to two years in prison and was released after serving three months. 2 September – Abdulla Alishayev was shot several times by unknown assailants in Makhachkala, Dagestan, and died in hospital. Alishayev was the television host of TV-Chirkei and was known for his opposition to Islamic fundamentalism within the republic and Russia as a whole. 30 December – Shafig Amrakhov was shot and wounded by an unknown assailant at his apartment in Murmansk and later died in hospital. Amrakhov was the editor of the RIA 51 news agency and criticized the economic policies of Yuri Yevdokimov, the governor of Murmansk Oblast. 2009 4 January – Vladislav Zakharchuk died in a fire that engulfed a newspaper office in Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai. Zakharchuk was the advertisement manager for the newspaper Arsenyevskie Vesti. The newspaper was known for its criticism of the authorities in the krai and its chief editor and journalists had previously faced fines and imprisonment. 19 January – Stanislav Markelov was shot and killed by a masked gunman in Moscow alongside Anastasia Baburova. Markelov was a lawyer who worked with Novaya Gazeta and brought many cases against the Russian military, Chechen warlords, and neo-Nazi groups. 19 January – Anastasia Baburova died alongside Stanislav Markelov after being shot in Moscow. Baburova was a journalist-in-training for Novaya Gazeta and was known for investigating neo-Nazi activity in Russia. 30 March – Sergei Protazanov was found unconscious at his home in Khimki, Moscow Oblast, and later died in hospital. Authorities and relatives believed he was poisoned. Protazanov was the page designer for Grazhdanskoye Soglasiye, the only opposition newspaper in the city, and was seriously beaten by assailants a few days prior to his death. 29 June – Vyacheslav Yaroshenko died of wounds he received from a severe beating by an unknown assailant in April in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast. Yaroshenko was the chief editor of the Korruptsiya i Prestupnost newspaper and prior to his beating, the newspaper published multiple articles alleging corruption in the Oblast's government, police, and prosecutor's office. 15 July – Natalia Estemirova was abducted and then killed in Grozny, Chechnya. Her body was later found near Nazran, Ingushetia. Estemirova was a human rights activist for Memorial who worked with journalists of Novaya Gazeta and occasionally published in the newspaper herself. She was known for investigating murders and kidnappings in Chechnya and was a colleague of Anna Politkovskaya. 11 August – Malik Akhmedilov