Andrei Babitsky
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Andrei Maratovich Babitsky (; 26 September 1964 – 1 April 2022) was a Russian journalist and
war reporter A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the world. O ...
, who worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) from 1989 to 2014, covering the 1991
August Coup The 1991 Soviet coup attempt, also known as the August Coup, was a failed attempt by hardliners of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) to Coup d'état, forcibly seize control of the country from Mikhail Gorbachev, who was President ...
,
Civil War in Tajikistan The Tajikistani Civil War,, group=pron also known as the Tajik Civil War, began in May 1992 and ended in June 1997. Regional groups from the Garm and Gorno-Badakhshan regions of Tajikistan rose up against the newly formed government of Preside ...
and both the
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and
Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...
s from behind Chechen lines. Babitsky's kidnapping by the Russian forces in January–February 2000 during the
Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...
attracted attention of international journalists' organisations. His 2005 video interview with Chechen warlord
Shamil Basayev Shamil Salmanovich Basayev (; ; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his '' kunya'' Abu Idris, was a Chechen guerrilla leader who served as a senior military commander in the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He held the rank ...
was condemned by Russian government, as Basayev was on wanted terrorist list in Russia.


War correspondent in Chechnya

His reporting was somewhat controversial in Russia, as he was often accused of siding with the Chechen rebels. Babitsky once said:
One must say that the Chechens cut throats of soldiers not because they are sadists inclined to treat them with brutality, but in order to make the war more convex, visible, vivid, to reach the public and to explain that a war is actually going on, scary and cruel.
However, according to Mario Corti, head of RFE/RL, Russian service, Babitsky has not shied away from reporting Chechen atrocities and was the first Russian journalist to put the blame for the death of the American disaster relief specialist Fred Cuny on a Chechen warlord.Andrew Meier
reporter Missing
/ref> At the outset of the Russian assault on the Chechen capital Grozny in January 2000 the
Russian government The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...
announced that there were no civilians left in the city. Babitsky then managed to get into the besieged
Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...
and reported under heavy bombing that this was not the case and that civilians did remain in the city.Павел Гутинотов
"Заурядное дело"
After his last phone contact on 15 January, he disappeared.Celestibe Bohlen

/ref> The Russian officials at first denied that they knew anything about his whereabouts. However, it was leaked to Alexander Yevtushenko, friend of Babitsky and war reporter for
Komsomolskaya Pravda ''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (; ) is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper that was founded in 1925. Its name is in reference to the official Soviet newspaper '' Pravda'' (English: 'Truth'). History and profile During the Soviet era, ''Komsomolskaya ...
, that on 16 January Babitsky had been detained while trying to leave Grozny and since then had been held in the Chernokozovo prison camp by the Russian forces. On 28 January, the authorities admitted to having him in custody since 23 January. As Babitsky's family, friends and colleagues voiced fears for his life and the scandal unfolded, after a personal inquiry by U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...
, who was visiting Moscow, Russian Prosecutor General
Vladimir Ustinov Vladimir Vasilyevich Ustinov (; born 25 February 1953) is a Russian lawyer and statesman. Since 2008 he is the Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District. Until 2008, he was Russia's Minister of Justice. He was Vladimir Putin's firs ...
on 2 February pledged to bring Babitsky to Moscow and release him.Jim Nichol (2000)
Chechnya Conflict: Recent Developments
CRS Report for Congress.
However, instead of his release, on 4 February the Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky announced that on 3 February Babitsky had been handed over to Chechen warlords in exchange for several Russian soldiers held captive by them. "From now on, all federal authorities bear no responsibility for the reporter's fate", Yastrzhembsky added. Chechen rebel authorities, including president
Aslan Maskhadov Aslan (Khalid) Aliyevich Maskhadov (; ; 21 September 1951 – 8 March 2005) was a Soviet and Chechen politician and military commander who was the third president of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He was credited by many with ...
, denied ever having been involved in any such swap. The situation was perceived as one of the first signs of the shrinking tolerance for a free press in Russia under
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
, who became acting
President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...
on New Year's Eve.Man in the Balance
''
Index on Censorship Index on Censorship is an organisation campaigning for freedom of expression. It produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association wit ...
'' 2000; 29; 90
As author
Masha Gessen Masha Gessen () is a Russian and American journalist, author, and translator who has written extensively on LGBT rights. Gessen writes primarily in English but also in Russian. In addition to authoring several nonfiction books, Gessen has con ...
put it, with the story of the prisoner swap, "...Russian troops had treated a journalist--a Russian journalist--as an enemy combatant." On 10 March 2000, the newspaper
Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...
published an interview with Putin, where he accused Babitsky of treason and collaboration with Chechen warlords and commented:
Here you say that he is a
Russian citizen Russian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Russia. The primary law governing citizenship requirements is the federal law "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation" (, ), which came into force on 1 July ...
. Well, one has to obey the law of one's country if one counts on being treated according to the law.
On 25 February 2000, Babitsky was arrested in
Makhachkala Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye (1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk language, Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Dagestan, Russia. ...
. He was
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for carrying a forged passport, which, he said, had been provided by those holding him, ended up fined in October 2000 but was granted amnesty immediately thereafter.


Further reporting for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFERL) until 2014 dismissal

On 2 September 2004, Babitsky was detained by Russian Special Services at
Vnukovo airport Vnukovo, formally Vnukovo Andrei Tupolev International Airport (named after Andrei Tupolev) ( rus, links=no, Внуково, p=ˈvnukəvə) , is a dual-runway international airport located in Vnukovo District, southwest of the centre of Moscow, ...
whilst attempting to get to
North Ossetia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
to report on the school hostage crisis. On 23 June 2005, Babitsky managed to interview Chechen warlord
Shamil Basayev Shamil Salmanovich Basayev (; ; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his '' kunya'' Abu Idris, was a Chechen guerrilla leader who served as a senior military commander in the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He held the rank ...
. The interview was first broadcast on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
on 28 July and incurred the wrath of Russian officials.Nabi Abdullaev and Andrew McChesney
Basayev’s ‘Nightline’ Interview Irks Russia
/ref> Babitsky was living in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
,
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where RFE/RL headquarters were located when in 2014 he fell out with Radio Liberty over his advocating the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. He voiced the opinion that it was Russia's "undeniable right to stand up for its (Crimea's) inhabitants" and in September of the same year he was dismissed from the radio. Speaking on the war in eastern Ukraine, Babitsky said that:
At that time I felt for the Chechens, because I thought that if these people want to live by their own traditions and move away from Russia then they should be able to. ... It’s the same here. I think Russia is playing a significant role here, but the reasons are not to be found in Russia, they are internal. This is a civil war, where the interests of two parts of Ukraine that consider themselves linked to two cultural traditions are clashing with each other.
While Andrei Babitsky claimed his dismissal was political for his opinions towards Crimea and Ukraine, RFE/RL stated it was due to staff reorganisation; RFERL spokesman, Martins Zvaners, commented that RFE/RL cannot discuss the Babitsky's case, but claimed it was "totally false" that the dismissal was connected with Babitsky's personal views, and that RFE/RL had no bias in coverage of Ukraine.


Death

Babitsky died on 1 April 2022 in Donetsk, Ukraine at the age of 57.


References


External links


Brief Legal Evaluation of Circumstances Attending to Andrei Babitsky’s Detention
Glastnost Defense Foundation

CPJ Press Freedom Online
''Babitsky's War''
television documentary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babitsky, Andrei 1964 births 2022 deaths Writers from Moscow People of the Chechen wars Russian war correspondents Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people Defenders of the White House (1991) Russian people of Tajik descent People from the Donetsk People's Republic