Chaikova, a correspondent for the Russian weekly Obshchaya Gazeta who was known for her exposés of Russian military atrocities and close contacts with the Chechen rebels, was fatally shot, execution-style. Her body was discovered March 30 outside the Chechen village of Gehki. Chaikova was known to have filmed the destroyed village of Samashki, leveled in an attack by Russian federal troops. While Russian federal troops are suspected in her death, the killing may have been ordered by Chechen fighters acting on rumors spread by Russian secret police that she was a spy.
