Press Release, June 7, 2013

YABLOKO held an action near the Representation of the Republic of Kalmykia in Moscow to honour  the memory of Larissa Yudina, Editor-in-Chief of Sovietskaya Kalmykia newspaper and Chair of the Kalmykia branch of the YABLOKO party. She was murdered in July 1998 and YABLOKO still insists that the ex President of Kalmykia Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is involved in the crime.
“It is 15 years since the day the Editor-in-Chief of Sovietskaya Kalmykia Larissa Yudina was murdered. She criticised President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov for corruption. The perpetrators were prosecuted, but the person who ordered the murder escaped the punishment. We remember YABLOKO members who sacrificed their lives struggling for democracy and justice. We hope that the murder case of Larissa Yudina will be solved”, said Galina Mikhaleva.
The activists placed a table with a chessboard on it and two chairs near the Representation. They placed a photograph of Larissa Yudina on one of the chairs. A standard White move e2-e4 was made on behalf of Larisa. This wayYABLOKO invited Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of World Chess Federation (FIDE), who had been Larissa Yudina’s main opponent, to play chess.
“Larissa Yudina plays white and makes the simplest move. We know the way Ilyumzhinov played black in return”, explained Galina Mikhaleva, Secretary of the Political Committee of the YABLOKO party.
The security guards inquired what were the activists doing. “We are playing chess” answered YABLOKO’s activists. No more questions arose.
Larissa Yudina was murdered on June 7, 1998. YABLOKO claims the murder was a result of Yudina’s struggle against Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s criminal regime. During the election campaign of 1993 Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, presidential candidate, said: “I will govern the Republic as if it were a corporation”. At the time Udina wrote:” If a person is going to be hired, first they ask for his agreement. I disagree to work for Ilyumzhinov’s corporation”. When Kirsan Ilyumzhinov won the elections the newspaper headed by Larissa Yudina was not allowed be published in the Republic. It was connected with Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s statement: “While I’m President the Sovetskaya Kalmykia newspaper will not be published”.
On June 7, 1998 Larissa Yudina had a business meeting with representatives of Agency for Development and Cooperation (ARIS). The agency registered companies in Kalmykia’s official offshore zone, to favor investment. They promised to give her the documents that proved corruption in the Republic. She never returned. Her body, boring marks of a violent attack, was found the next day.

See also:

Chronicle of events. The murder of Larissa Yudina

Sergei Mitrokhin: “Putin must make them investigate the Mikhail Beketov case”