Attacks on Politkovskaya's memory have defined the limits of civil discourse.

Any civic expression, whether a plaque commemorating Anna Politkovskaya or a "Last Address" sign for a victim of Stalin's repressions, provokes active aggression among supporters of the government in Russia. Impunity encourages spontaneous acts of vandalism, even without direct orders from above.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, on January 18, a memorial plaque, which had hung for almost 20 years on the wall of the building on Lesnaya Street in Moscow where Novaya Gazeta columnist Anna Politkovskaya lived and was shot, was smashed for the first time. Activists from "Civil Initiative" placed a temporary plaque in its place, but on January 19, it too was destroyed. On the evening of February 16, activists restored the memorial plaque on the murdered journalist's house for the 16th time; the previous plaque, like most of the others, lasted less than a day.

Human rights activist Oleg Orlov*, head of the Civic Assistance Committee* Svetlana Gannushkina*, and journalist and initiator of the Last Address memorial project Sergei Parkhomenko* commented on the targeted destruction of memorial plaques in honor of Anna Politkovskaya by unknown individuals to the "Caucasian Knot."

The actions of vandals who systematically destroy memorial plaques on the facade of Anna Politkovskaya's house are unlikely to be directly ordered by the authorities, believes Oleg Orlov*.

"It seems to me that this is a grassroots initiative, supported by the authorities, tacitly approved by them. It's a good example of how Putin's regime has some support among a segment of the population—an active support base, and not just among security forces and officials. And this support base for Putin's regime is even moving more toward reaction than the regime itself; it's even pushing the regime to take even harsher actions, to become even more hostile to any manifestations of the struggle for human rights, any elements of democracy, and everything else," he said.

The virtual absence of punishment for the perpetrators, the human rights activist believes, speaks to the deliberate connivance of the vandals. "The first person who did this and was found received a minimal, symbolic punishment—a fine of a small amount by today's Russian standards. They punished them precisely to show that nothing would happen. It was a deliberate signal: 'Guys, you can keep doing this; you'll get practically nothing for it,'" Orlov* pointed out.

The vandals' aggression, in his opinion, is aimed at everything related to the fight for human rights. "Anything related to the willingness of the active part of civil society to somehow condemn the government, to express their opinions without supporting it. It's against any independent civic initiative that runs counter to the government's policies. Politkovskaya embodied free journalism, which is unafraid to report on the crimes of the authorities. And it's no wonder Putin said after her death that her killers had done even more harm to the government than her publications: that is, Putin, from the very beginning, viewed her as someone who was detrimental to his power. "It's clear, then, that this is precisely the target of aggression," Orlov* explained. He compared the tearing down of Politkovskaya's memorial plaques to the destruction of "Last Address" plaques and the erection of monuments to Stalin. "The destruction of "Last Address" plaques or the initiatives to erect monuments to Stalin are carried out not so much by state agents paid to do so, but by activists from the most reactionary segment of society who actively support the regime, as they perceive it. Perhaps even Putin wouldn't want to be associated with this, but his supporters, on whom his regime relies, are engaged in this with the regime's tacit approval," the human rights activist concluded.

Human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina* believes the campaign to destroy the plaques is in line with "the revival of Stalinism." At the same time, she is convinced that if there was a specific order to destroy the memorial signs, it came from the same people who ordered the journalist's murder.

“After all, the perpetrators were convicted, as usual, but the people who ordered the attacks were never found. These people who ordered the attacks and those who are with them are also the ones who ordered these actions. These are people whose ideology is to support the government in any form, in particular, its policy towards Chechnya. Because it is clear that Anya had no personal enemies: those who were dissatisfied with her activities ordered the murder, and these same people could initiate the removal of the plaque from her house. She was a rather outspoken commentator on what was happening in the political arena, and among those who, on the contrary, want to support the government, this probably provokes such aggression,” Gannushkina* said.

The Politkovskaya memorial plaque was in no way connected with the “Last” project address”, however, the systematic destruction of this board and the regular tearing down of the “Last Address” signs are part of “the same process”, Sergey Parkhomenko* is sure.

“On the one hand, the state doesn’t issue any official decisions on this matter: there’s no decree on the destruction of the ‘Last Address’ plaques or the Politkovskaya memorial plaque; no one is ordering this. But there is what’s called a social atmosphere and a social standard. And these standards—in fact, the entire propaganda and lifestyle being instilled today—contribute to the idea that now is their time—now is their time, now is their right, and now they’ll be praised for it. And we see, generally speaking, more or less the same people in Moscow systematically destroying the ‘Last Address’ plaques,” he said.

According to reports, these same figures were involved in the initial incident with Anna Politkovskaya’s memorial plaque. "And then, as we know, some residents of that same building, who had always disliked that sign, got involved. And then they, too, saw that it could be done without any consequences: so now it's time for them to pick up a hammer and smash it. There aren't many of these people in Moscow; we know them all by face and name, because they're in all the video recordings. They're not hiding at all. These are people who work for vile organizations, undoubtedly under the cover of Center E and the secret services," Parkhomenko said.

The aggression against the signs is motivated by the fact that they express a civic position that contradicts official policy. "They feel that all these plaques are not only a memorial to these specific individuals, but also a form of civic expression. And they're right; that's indeed the case; it's truly a form of civic expression. For them, this is a very unpleasant and hostile thing, and that's why they're trying so hard to protest it," he explained.

None of the vandals would have acted this way without being confident of complete impunity, but their behavior is socially accepted in today's Russia, the journalist emphasized. "They believe, and not without reason, that they are now trending. Previously, they had to be afraid, but now they don't: no police, no law enforcement agencies, no prosecutor's office, no prefectures, no authorities, no city hall are prosecuting them for this," he concluded.

"Caucasian Knot" publishes materials dedicated to Politkovskaya on the thematic page "Politkovskaya and Estemirova," which also contains materials about Anna's friend, journalist and human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, who was killed in 2009 and also worked on the problems of residents of Chechnya.

* are listed as foreign agents.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.