Press Release, June 7, 2013

YABLOKO held a mourning rally in memory of Larissa Yudina, Editor-in-Chief of Sovietskaya Kalmykia newspaper and Chair of the Kalmykia branch of the YABLOKO party, in Elista, capital of the of the Republic of Kalmykia. Larissa Yudina was murdered on June 7, 1998. The activists demanded from the President of Kalmykia to resume investigation of the murder and demanded from the law-enforcement agencies to find those who ordered the crime. The action in memory of the journalist took place in Moscow as well. 

Sergei Mitrokhin, Chair of YABLOKO

Chair of the YABLOKO party Sergei Mitrokhin, Advisor to YABLOKO’s Chair Sofia Rusova, leader of the Kalmykia branch of YABLOKO Valery Kardonov, ex-journalists of Sovetskaya Kalmykia Today who knew Larissa Yudina in person, representatives of the local branch of the Communist party and citizens of Elista spoke at the rally.

In his speech Sergei Mitrokhin stated that YABLOKO had been seeking an honest investigation of the murder since 1998.

“Grigory Yavlinsky who was Chair of YABLOKO at that time applied to Vladimir Putin about the criminal regime established in Kalmykia during Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s long-term governing there. Vladimir Putin answered that he could do nothing about it because of utter corruption in the Republic”, Sergei Mitrokhin said.

Mitrokhin also added that Larissa Yudina had been a fearless journalist and a person who virtually alone dared to oppose Kirsan Ilumzhinov’s Administration.

Sergei Mitrokhin proposed to put up a monument to Larissa Yudina in Elista.

Sofia Rusova read out letters of condolences from Novaya Gazeta and Alexei Simonov, President of the Glasnost Foundation.

“I have read a collection of Yudina’s articles and despite the fact that I did not know her in person it is obvious that she was a true journalist and public interests came first for her. And she paid for them with her life”, noted Rusova.

A resolution was passed at the end of the rally demanding from President Putin to resume investigation on the murder case of Larissa Yudina.

The activists also demanded from the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Investigative Committee to “prosecute not only the perpetrators of this cruel murder who have almost served their imprisonment terms and will be released soon, but to find the one who ordered the murder”.

YABLOKO’s activists laid flowers on Yudina’s grave. Later that day YABLOKO held a picket in memory of the journalist.

See also:

Chronicle of events. The murder of Larissa Yudina

Action in memory of murdered journalist Larissa Yudina