Julia Khaytina, successor to the Dmitry Kholodov, the Moskovsky Komsomolets reporter who was assassinated during his investigation into corruption in the military, said Thursday she would continue his probes into corruption and illegal arms deals in the Russian Army.


In an interview with The Moscow Times, she reaffirmed the belief expressed by her editor, Pavel Gusev, that Kholodov had been killed to protect Defense Minister Pavel Grachev. "We found ourselves in a trap of these people," she said. "We were set up. But we have to do what we do, even if the game is according to their rules."


Dmitry Kholodov had been investigating corruption at top levels of the Western Group of the Russian Army before he was killed on Oct. 17. He was blown up by a bomb hidden in a briefcase that he had collected from the baggage check at Kazansky railway station, following a call from a contact at the Federal Counterintelligence Service.


Khaytina said she had worked with Kholodov and covered military subjects. Now she was concentrating on investigating illegal commercial and arms deals of the leadership of the Western Group."It is very dangerous to touch subjects dealing with the trade of weapons," she said. "Laws mean nothing in this sphere."


"Anyway, we have some documents and we will use them in the next publications," she said. "I think in a law based state it would have some effect." But she added that she doubted that there would be any repercussions here.


Asked if she feared assassination herself, Khaytina said: "I am an individual like any other in this country with whom the state can do any thing it likes, but I do not feel fear."