A note on Anna Politkovskaya

It is shocking to see freedom of speech silenced by a bullet. Over the weekend the response to the killing of Russian journalist and author Anna Politkovskaya has been one of understandable outrage. I remember after reading her book Putin's Russia thinking that it was incredible that someone was able to write a book like that and still be able to work as a jorunalist in Russia.
Her bravery allowed people like me, with an interest in Russia but complete outsiders, to get a glimpse of the world at the top of the pile in that country. Some might say it was inevitable she was going to be killed but the nature of her death provides a fresh credibility to her work about corrupt practices that Putin's government will hopefully find hard to brush under the carpet.