There are here some very clear distinctions to be made. For example, there was nothing amiss in Grachev's decision to sue Moskovsky Komsomolets. The daily has accused him of very serious crimes, including complicity in murder, based on what in the West would be considered the flimsiest of evidence. If he is innocent, then clearly he has no choice but to sue to clear his name.
But the defense minister has done nothing to ease suspicions since Kholodov, who had been reporting on military, coruption was blown up by a booby-trapped bomb.
To say, as Grachev has, that Kholodov could well have brought the explosives that killed him back from one of his reporting trips to the Caucasus and probably blew himself up is a groundless and tasteless allegation to make against the dead 27-year-old.
Under the same category of tastelessness would come Grachev's comment that if Kholodov was murdered and if the killer had been one of his men, the assassin would have been fired for the unprofessional job he did. Small wonder that Kholodov's family believe Grachev has "spat" on their son's grave.
Only a little less insensitive was Grachev's statement that he would not rule out that Kholodov's murder had been engineered in order to bring him, the defense minister of Russia, down -- a rather unlikely claim.
But just as disturbing is what Grachev has failed to say. Kholodov was only one of a number of journalists and officials who have brought forward evidence of widespread corruption at top levels of the military. The names of dozens of officers found by the prosecutor's office to have been involved in such corruption have already been published.Yet at no point has Grachev acknowledged that there could be a problem inside the former Soviet army, a problem of which Kholodov's murder -- and it was a murder -- could well be dramatic evidence.
Instead, Grachev's newly appointed deputy, Matvei Burlakov former commander of the Western Group of Forces, has said that no more than 62 pistols were lost from the garrisons of Eastern Europe since 1946. This, granted that dozens of reporters bought or were offered ex-Soviet weapons from Kalashnikovs to anti-aircraft systems at the train stations of East Germany after the wall cam down, is Alice in Wonderland stuff.
Instead of assailing the dead Kholodov, Grachev should be launching a full-scale investigation both into the charges of corruption inside the Western Group of Forces and into whether any military mafiosi were involved in the reporter's murder. Then he could clear his name.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.