Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of the war in rebel Chechnya, was found shot dead today at her apartment block in central Moscow.
Ms Politkovskaya was well-known for exposing rights abuses by Russian troops in Chechnya, where she won the respect of many Chechens.
She acted as a negotiator with the Chechen rebels who laid siege to a Moscow theatre in 2002.
She was unable to report on the Beslan school siege two years later, when Chechen rebels took hundreds of children hostage after suffering from poisoning after drinking a cup of tea on the plane.
Her war reporting often meant she was under scrutiny by Russian politicians and, sometimes, the security services.
