Press release, 09.06.2015
On June 9, 2015, YABLOKO Bureau meeting began with a minute of silence in memory of Yuri Shchekochikhin. He would have been 65 years old today.

Yuri Shchekochikhin is a Russian journalist, writer and politician. In 1995 he became deputy of the 2nd State Duma from YABLOKO faction, in 1999 was elected to the 3d State Duma as YABLOKO candidate.

He passes away on July 3, 2003, but the memory of him is always alive in the hearts of his nearest and dearest, colleagues and team-mates.

Yuri Shchekochikhin is known as a bitter enemy of corruption, he wrote a large number of journalist investigations. In his articles for Novaya Gazeta newspaper Shchekochikhin wrote about large-scale fraud with smuggling of furniture in the Grand and Tri Kita (Three Pillars)malls, where he accused the employees of the Federal Security Service.

“We have all grounds to suspect that Yuri Shchekochikhin was murdered. Sooner or later we will achieve the investigation of this crime and bring those who committed and ordered it to responsibility,” noted YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin.

Yuri Shchekochikhin was a journalist in Novaya Gazeta, member of the YABLOKO party, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Security, member of the State Duma Commission for Fight Against Corruption, he left behind articles, books, films and performances. Yuri Shchekochikhin worked on prevention of juvenile crime, and was one of the first people in the USSR to draw public attention to the existence of organized crime in the country, he was also the UN expert on organized crime.

YABLOKO will always remember Yuri Shchekochikhin.
Live forever!