III 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 151 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 19, 2007 
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Noting the disturbing pattern of killings of numerous inde-
pendent journalists in Russia since 2000, and urging 
Russian President Vladimir Putin to authorize coopera-
tion with outside investigators in solving those murders. 
Whereas Paul Klebnikov, the editor of the Russian version of 
Forbes Magazine, who was investigating suspect business 
dealings and corruption cases in Russia, was shot to 
death in Moscow on July 9, 2004; 
Whereas Mr. Klebnikov’s murder remains unsolved; 
Whereas Anna Politkovskaya, an acclaimed Russian jour-
nalist and human rights activist who wrote numerous 
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articles critical of Russia’s prosecution of the war in 
Chechnya, of human rights abuses by the Russian gov-
ernment and of Russian President Vladimir Putin was 
shot to death in Moscow on October 7, 2006; 
Whereas Ms. Politkovskaya’s murder remains unsolved; 
Whereas Ivan Safronov, a military affairs reporter for the 
Russian newspaper ‘‘Kommersant’’ who wrote articles 
criticizing the failure of Russian military programs and 
who was planning to report on potential Russian arms 
sales to Middle Eastern countries, including to state 
sponsors of terrorism Iran and Syria, died in mysterious 
circumstances, falling five stories from a window in the 
stairwell of his apartment building in Moscow on March 
2, 2007; 
Whereas, Russian prosecutors subsequently suggested that 
Mr. Safronov may have committed suicide, although he 
left no suicide note and the circumstances surrounding 
his death raised unanswered questions; 
Whereas the cause of Mr. Safronov’s death remains undeter-
mined; 
Whereas, according to Reporters Without Borders, twenty- 
one reporters have been murdered in Russia since March 
2000 and many of those murders remain unsolved; 
Whereas, according to Reporters Without Borders, Russia 
was one of the six most dangerous countries for journal-
ists to work in during 2006; 
Whereas a number of those reporters who were murdered had 
reported on alleged corruption, malfeasance and other 
controversies at the federal, provincial and local levels of 
government in Russia; 
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Whereas a number of those murdered had reported on alleged 
human rights abuses by the Russian Government; 
Whereas a number of those murdered had reported on the 
Russian government’s conduct of the war in Chechnya, 
which has involved numerous allegations of gross human 
rights violations and corruption; 
Whereas, if journalists are killed or silenced through undue 
pressure with impunity, a vibrant and participatory civil 
society sector cannot emerge and democratic develop-
ments are stalled; and 
Whereas, according to the President of the International 
News Safety Institute, ‘‘murder has become the easiest, 
cheapest and most effective way of silencing troublesome 
reporting, and the more the killers get away with it the 
more the spiral of death is forced upwards’’: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) recalls the essential role that transparency 
and the free flow of information play in creating and 
preserving democratic institutions and civil society in 
any country; 
(2) recognizes the vital contribution made by 
independent journalists in Russia in bringing trans-
parency and a free flow of information to readers 
after decades of Communist censorship and repres-
sion; 
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(3) notes the disturbing trend of murders of 
independent journalists in Russia over the last dec-
ade; 
(4) encourages the President of the United 
States to formally offer Russian President Vladimir 
Putin and other officials of the Russian Government 
United States Government law enforcement inves-
tigative assistance to help identify and bring to jus-
tice those responsible for the many unsolved mur-
ders of journalists in Russia during the past decade; 
and 
(5) urges President Putin to seek out com-
petent, outside law enforcement assistance in the in-
vestigation of the unsolved murders of numerous 
independent journalists in Russia. 
Passed the House of Representatives June 18, 2007. 
Attest: 
LORRAINE C. MILLER, 
Clerk. 
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