The Prague Post Online: News: Nonprofit seeks to honor slain journalist

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July 25th, 2008

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Nonprofit seeks to honor slain journalist

Plans to name street after Russian Anna Politkovskaya could upset city residents

By Markéta Hulpachová
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
May 7th, 2008 issue

COURTESY PHOTO

People in Need says the political motive for the murder of Politkovskaya, shown above, is cause itself for her commemoration. enlarge

The web of intrigue surrounding the 2006 murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya has yet to be unraveled.

Yet if local human rights activists have their way, Prague may be the first city to inscribe her name on a street sign.

Officials are considering an initiative to name a prominent city street after Politkovskaya, which was put forward recently by the nonprofit group People in Need. Some Russian residents in Prague have reservations about the idea, however.

Politkovskaya was gunned down in her Moscow apartment building in October 2006 after reporting on Russian military practices in Chechnya. People in Need’s street-naming project is intended to draw attention to her case and to promote human rights and press freedom in Russia. Besides Prague, the group is pushing for similar street name changes in other parts of Europe and the United States.

“We’re also communicating with officials in Paris and Washington, D.C., but we do not expect this to prevent Prague from being the first,” said Rostislav Valvoda, who coordinates People in Need’s East European human rights projects.

Politkovskaya was also known for her critical approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration.

At least 10 people have been charged in connection with the murder, including a high-ranking officer in the Russian federal security service (FSB). But the case remains largely unsolved. Former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko accused the Kremlin of orchestrating Politkovskaya’s assassination prior to his murder in November 2006.

“It sounds like a cliché, but there aren’t many people like Politkovskaya in the world. More than anything, she was a brave woman,” said Prague Deputy Mayor Markéta Reedová. “The symbolic value of naming a street after her would be very positive for the city, especially since we would be the first.”

Not all share Reedová’s enthusiasm, however.

Concerned that the street naming will irk members of the local Russian community, Andrej Fozikoš, editor-in-chief of the magazine Ruské slovo (The Russian Word), urges City Hall to be cautious before sanctioning such activities.

“I’m sorry, but I have to say I’m not too fond of the idea,” Fozikoš said. “It’s premature, because [Politkovskaya’s] case is still unresolved. I am convinced that certain Russian circles will interpret it as a politically charged statement regarding this tragic event.”

For Valvoda, the purported political motive for Politkovskaya’s murder is in itself a cause for her commemoration.

“It’s fairly straightforward,” he said. “Politkovskaya was killed because of what she wrote about Chechnya. Someone probably didn’t like that she was revealing the real face of the Russian Army’s activities in the region. We know the reason for her murder, so the controversy just isn’t there.”

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalová, told Lidové noviny April 25 that the name change will not impact Czech-Russian relations, “Russia itself has officially declared that it intends to shed light on Politkovskaya’s death,” Opletalová said.

Controversial streets

Ultimately, the success of the Politkovská street project depends on City Hall’s topographical committee, which would be responsible for choosing the street.

Although People in Need wants a central location, it is more likely that the committee will select a newly built, prominent street on the city’s outskirts, according to historian Václav Ledvinka, the director of the Prague City Archive.

“If the topographical committee’s past policies are any indication, finding a location in the city center is practically hopeless,” he said. “It will clash with the opinions of residents, who generally want to avoid the administrative complications associated with an address change at all costs.”

While admitting that changing the name of an existing street would require the approval of the affected residents, Reedová said it may be possible to rename “controversial” streets.

“It could be a street that is named after an entity that no longer exists,” she said, such as U stadionu street in Prague 3, named after a defunct youth stadium.

Another option, according to Reedová, is to rename a street that still bears the name of a communist-era figure, such as Koněvova street in Prague 3, which is named after Red Army General Ivan Konev.

Since 1989, Prague officials have renamed 280 streets, five embankments, 24 squares, five bridges and several metro stations that formerly bore the names of communist-era events, organizations and luminaries, including Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, Czechoslovak President Klement Gottwald and executed journalist Julius Fučík.

According to Ledvinka, the city’s approach to the renaming process had always been minimalistic. “In general, streets were renamed only in the most acute cases to avoid creating additional complications for the residents,” he said.

Whatever its location, the Politkovská street effort underlines the Czech Republic’s reputation as a supporter of human rights, said Prague resident Alisher Sidikov, a Radio Free Europe broadcaster who runs a program on press freedom.

“Politkovskaya was an outstanding journalist,” he said. “She had nothing in common with the Czech Republic, but naming a street after her would support the [local] government’s perception as a defender of human rights and the freedom of speech.”

Markéta Hulpachová can be reached at mhulpachova@praguepost.com

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