Reporters Without Borders Wishes Vladimir Putin an Unhappy Birthday

Oct. 07, 2021

• 7th October
• Anna Politkovskaïa’s Assassination
• Vladimir Putin’s Birthday
• Unhappy coincidence...

7th October 2021 will mark the 15th anniversary of the journalist Anna Politkovskaïa assassination and the 69th birthday of the Russian president Vladimir Putin’s.

If it’s possible to ask oneself about the strange coincidence between these 2 dates, what is sure is that Anna’s fight still continues: the free press has never been so attacked in Russia that in the past few months since the end of the USSR.

So this year, Reporters Without Borders ask the international community not to wish Mr Putin a happy birthday, but rather an #UnhappyBirthdayMrPutin.

To commemorate Anna’s memory, to demand that all light is shed on her assassination as the prescription time is coming on the 7th of October, that the commendatory are found and that pressure is put on the Russian president so that abuses and threats against journalists in Russia cease.

This 7th October, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) launched a great operation in the press and on social media. RSF will be launching an action in front of Russians embassies in Paris, London, Berlin and in front of Novaïa Gazeta in Moscow to release 1000 black balloons #UnhappyBirthdayMrPutin.

Russia is 150th out of 180 countries on RSF’s 2021 World Press Freedom Index.