RUSSIA: On this day: 1 March

 
Vladislav Listev

On 1 March 1995 Vladislav Listev, Russia's most popular television journalist and one of the most trusted people in the country at the time, was shot dead on the stairs of his apartment building. His murder became one of the most infamous unsolved contract killings in Russia’s modern history.

People who heard about the killing began calling each other in the middle of the night; the entire country was overwhelmed by the horror of his death. Vladislav had expressed concerns about his personal safety in the past, but never thought anyone would dare touch the country’s best know television personality.

Just days before his murder, 38 year old Listev was appointed general director of the Russian Public Television channel (ORT). Investigators have looked into all aspects of Listev’s life. They believe that the murder was almost certainly connected with his efforts to reorganize the business practices of ORT and was financially or politically motivated. Although hundreds of volumes of investigation materials have been compiled, no one has yet been named guilty or punished and the investigation continues.

Listev, who was as famous as Larry King in the United Sates, first appeared on television as one of the hosts of the TV show Vzglyad (“The View”) in the late 1980’s. Following his success on the show, Listev produced a number of TV projects including Ugadi Melodiyu (the Russian version of “Name That Tune”), Tema (“The Theme”) and Chas Pik (“The Rush Hour”).

Thousands of people attended Listev’s funeral in Moscow. Several major TV channels suspended programming on 2 March, broadcasting only a black framed photograph of the journalist with the words ‘Vladislav Listev has been killed.’

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