Magomed Yevloyev, the owner of a Russian opposition Internet site who was shot dead on Sunday, was the latest in a series of Russian journalists to have been killed or to die in suspicious circumstances.
Media freedom groups say Russia is one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists and that no one has been prosecuted over most of the deaths. Here are some of the most high-profile cases:
- Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead as she entered her Moscow apartment in October 2006. Her death received international attention and accusations - fiercely denied - of a Kremlin role in her death. Politkovskaya was an outspoken critic of then President Vladimir Putin and of human rights abuses in Chechnya. She would have turned 50 on August 30.
- Paul Klebnikov was a US citizen of Russian descent and editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine who was shot on a Moscow street in July 2004. He reported on some of Russia's most murky business deals. His suspected killers were acquitted in a trial and attempted retrials have been delayed.
- Ivan Safranov, defence correspondent of the Russian daily Kommersant, fell to his death from his Moscow apartment building in March 2007. Russian prosecutors halted an investigation into his death and ruled that it was suicide. His colleagues pointed out Shafranov had just returned from shopping with a bag of oranges before he fell -- unusual behaviour for someone about to commit suicide. He had been investigating sensitive arms sales days before his death.
- Yuri Shchekochikhin, deputy editor of Novaya Gazeta and a liberal lawmaker, died of poisoning in July 2003 in Moscow. His colleagues speculated that he might have ingested a radioactive substance and a new inquiry into his death started this year. Shchekochikhin probed corruption involving senior officials in Russia's FSB security service. Politkovskaya worked for the same newspaper.
