On 15 July 2010, a year  passed since the day of Natalya Estemirova’s murder that on this day some memoriam pickets and events were organized in Moscow, St Petersburg, Ekaterinburg and Grozny.

The friends and collegues -around 50 people- held a picket in the memory of Natalya Estemirova on 15 July at 17.30 at the Griboedov monument which close to Chistye Prudy Metro Station in Moscow, capital of Russian Federation. There are flowers and lit candles under Estemirova’s portrait; and the names of human rights defenders who perished in recent years are written on the asphalt nearby – Magomed Evloev, Maksharip Aushev, Farid Babayev and Anna Politkovskaya. The participants chanted slogans and hold the photos of Natalya Estemirova and banners like “Kadirov for questioning!”, “We demand an objective inquiry for the murder of Natalya Estemirova!”, “Impunity breeds tyranny!”, etc.. At around 18.30 demonstrator moved from here to Memorial House at Maly Karetnyi number 12. During the memorial programme, Oleg Orlov, head of Human Rights Center “Memorial”; Aleksandr Cherkasov, board member of HRC “Memorial”; Yelena Milashina, correspondent of Novata Gazeta; Tatyana Lokshina, deputy head of Moscow bureau of “Human Rights Watch”; Irina Shcherbakova, head of youth and educational programmes of Memorial International; Mikhail Brylovskiy, a member of Berlin Chechen diaspora; Yelena Sannikova, former political prisoner and a member of “Memorial”; and Anna Nemtsova, an employee of weekly Russian “Newsweek” spoke about the cases which she was working on during the last days of her life and about how her work is being carried on even today. In the end of the programme photographs of Natalya Estemirova at various ages were shown.

In St Petersburg city of Russian Federation, the Scientific Information Center (TSC) of “Memorial” held a press conference in the memory of Natalya Estemirova. The press conference was opened by Tatyana Kosinova, a member of TSC “Memorial”, and after there was presented a slide show consist of Natalya’s photos. Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, a member of TSC “Memorial”; Deni Teps, a member of Chechen diaspora in St Petersburg; Nikolay Rybakov, a member of “Yabloko Party” talked about the Natalya’s important works and her challenges against tyranny. Yelena Vilenskaya and Natalya Nesterenko from the organization “House of Peace and Non-Violence” (Dom Mira i Nenasiliya) presented their book “Menya, Kak Reku, Surovaya Epoxa Povernula…” with the support and participation of Natalya Estemirova which is about the fates of women during Russian-Chechen wars, dedicated to the memory of Natalya Estemirova. After the press conference the participants moved to city center. The demonstrators wore red T-shirts with a photo of Natalya Estemirova and labeled as “Natalya Estemirova was killed July 15, 2009”. They also handed out the informative leaflets about the murder of Natalya.

Natalya Estemirova didn’t stick in the mind in Chechnya that is under occupation of Russia. The commemoration action was held in the Journalists’ Mini-Park; the picket was not advertised but some 100-150 people attended it. The action was attended by local human rights organizations “Niyso” (Justice), Union of NGOs, Independent News-Analytical Agency “Objective”, “Memorial”, “Mothers’ Alarm”, Natalya’s friends, colleagues from Dagestan and Ingushetia and relatives, and residents of the Grozny. The participants of the action installed a small obelisk in memory of the journalists who perished in fight for human rights in the mini-park opposite the puppet regime’s “House of Press”. “The action was not advertised for participants’ safety reasons. We deliberately did not apply for a sanction to hold it. We gathered spontaneously by thinking: what can prevent us from just standing, sitting on benches and talking?” Seda Saratova, an employee of the Independent News-Analytical Agency “Objective”, told to the “Kavkaz-Uzel” correspondent. Then, the participants of the action went to the eldery singles’ house. The elders prayed “mowled”, under the Moslem tradition, for Natalya Estemirova; then they all went to the cemetery of Koshkeldy village, where the rights defender is buried.

The photos of actions in Moscow:

The photos of demonstration in St Petersburg:

The photos of action in Grozny: