Incident Summary:
07/09/2004: American Journalist Paul Klebnikov was shot on a street in Moscow, after leaving work late one evening. Assailants fired at least nine shots from a slowly moving vehicle. Four shots hit Klebnikov in the chest. He initially survived the attack, but bled to death in the hospital. Klebnikov had a reputation at Forbes for investigating post-Soviet business dealings and corruption. Investigators link his murder to his journalistic activity. Kazbek Dukuzov, Valid Agayev, and Fail Sadretdinov were responsible for the shooting. Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev, a former Chechen deputy prime minister, was identified as organizer of the of the Chechen rebel group and the mastermind behind the killing of Klebnikov.
Overview
GTD ID:
200407090001
When:
2004-07-09
Country:
Russia
Region:
Eastern Europe
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Moscow
City:
Moscow
Location Details:
Ulitsa Dokukina in the Rostokino neighborhood.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Assassination |
Successful Attack? () |
No |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Journalists & Media |
Name of Entity |
U.S. Journalist |
Specific Description |
Paul Klebnikov |
Nationality of Target |
Russia |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Handgun |
Weapon Details |
Assailants fired at least nine shots with a pistol. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
Kazbek Dukuzov and Valid Agayev, accused of firing the shots at Klebnikov, were believed to be part of a larger criminal gang involved in contract killings and extortions. Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev, a former Chechen deputy prime minister, was identified as the organizer of the of the Chechen rebel group and the killing of Klebnikov. On December 17, 2007, the retrial, of the original July 10, 2004 case, in which all three defendents were aquitted, was restarted. It was immediately halted due to the continued disappearance of Kazbek Dukuzov. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Unknown |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
3 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
3 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
1 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
Manson, Valerie. “US Journalist Shot Dead in Moscow,” WMRC Daily Analysis, July 12, 2004 |
Finn, Peter. “Chechens Held In Editor’s Death; Arrests Fuel Theory on Retribution,” The Washington Post, September 29, 2004, A Section; A21 |
Sadretdinov, acquitted on Khlebnikov's case, faces another charge, Caucasian Knot, May 12, 2006 |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties