December – 25-year-old Yaroslav Zvaltsev, financial director of the Russky dom newspaper in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, shot in contract killing. Homicide [nJ]. 12 December – Shamkhan Kagirov, correspondent of the Vozrozhdenie newspaper, Chechnya. Crossfire [J]. 26 December – Vadim Alferyev, worked as journalist for local press and TV in Krasnoyarsk, where he died after a savage beating. Homicide [?J]. 1996 25 January – Oleg Slabynko, founder of "Moment Istiny" corporation, producer of a program of the same name, a director of ORT (today Channel One TV), murdered in his Moscow apartment. Contract killing [nJ]. 8 February – Yury Litvinov, engineer, and Alexander Zaitsev, director, of Forward cable television. Found shot in car, Dalnegorsk, Primorsky Krai. Contract killing? [nJ]. 26 February – Felix Solovyov, famous photographer, Aeroflot journal editorial board, murdered in Moscow. Homicide [nJ]. 11 March – Victor Pimenov, cameraman with Vaynakh TV company (Chechnya). Grozny, Chechnya. Crossfire [J]. 30 March – Nadezhda Chaikova, investigative journalist for Obshchaya Gazeta, executed in Chechnya, body found near village of Gekhi. Homicide (war crime) [J]. 18 April – Anatoly Yagodin, correspondent for Na Boyevom Postu forces newspaper, killed by Chechen militants. Assinovskaya, Chechnya. Crossfire [J]. 9 May – Nina Yefimova, correspondent for Vozrozhdeniye newspaper, Chechnya. Grozny, Chechnya. Homicide [J]. 11 May – Victor Mikhailov, crime correspondent for Zabaikalsky rabochy newspaper. Chita. Homicide [nJ]. 26 July – Nikita Chigarkov, staff member of Utrenniy ekspress, beaten and robbed. Moscow. Homicide [nJ]. 1 August – Ivan Gogun, Groznensky rabochy correspondent. Grozny, Chechnya. Crossfire [J]. 11 August – Ramzan Khadjiev, ORT correspondent, shot outside checkpoint in Chechnya. Grozny, Chechnya. Crossfire [J]. 16 September – En Chan Kim, correspondent for newspapers in Sakhalin and Blagodatnaya Semya magazine. Zhulebino, Moscow. Homicide [nJ]. 27 October – Anatoly Tyutinkov, assistant chief editor of Vecherniy Peterburg. Incident not confirmed, St Petersburg. [nJ] 29 October – Lev Bogomolov, Kaluga Vechernyaya chief editor, Kaluga. Incident not confirmed [nJ]. 31 October – Sergei Semisotov, Editor of Traktir po Pyatnitsam newspaper. Volgograd. Homicide [nJ]. 10 November – Marina Gorelova, reporter for Otechestvo TV company and Yury Shmakov, Otechestvo TV consultant. Kotlyakovskoye cemetery, Moscow. Terrorist act. Two convicted in 2003 for 16 deaths, including two journalists, for causing the explosion. [J] 6 December – Kirill Polenov, freelance journalist. Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia. Homicide [nJ]. 7 December – Anatoly Belousov, deputy chief editor of Red Star (Krasnaya Zvezda)., Moscow Region. Homicide [nJ]. 1997–1999 1997 16 January – Alexei Yeldashov,