MOSCOW — 1994 · Unsolved Case
Murder of Dmitry Kholodov
Dmitry Kholodov, a young investigative reporter for the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, was killed on 17 October 1994 at the paper's Moscow office when a briefcase he had been told contained secret documents exploded. He had been investigating alleged corruption and arms smuggling in the military. Thousands attended his funeral. Years later military prosecutors tried six men, including former servicemen, but the Moscow Military District Court acquitted them in two separate trials, finding that confessions were either coerced or unsupported by evidence. No one was ever convicted, and the case remains one of the emblematic unsolved killings of journalists in Russia.
- Date
- 1994
- Place
- Moscow, Russia, Moscow, RU
- Category
- Unsolved Case
- Case Status
- Unsolved
- Coordinates
- 55.7670, 37.5580 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 17 October 1994Kholodov was killed by an exploding briefcase at the newspaper's office.
- October 1994Thousands attended his funeral.
- Late 1990sMilitary prosecutors charged six defendants, including intelligence officers.
- 2002The court acquitted the defendants.
- 2004A retrial also ended in acquittal; the case remained unsolved.
Sources
- CPJ — Justice on Trial: Dmitry Kholodov cpj.org ↗
- The Moscow Times — Thousands Mourn Murder of Kholodov themoscowtimes.com ↗
- Wikipedia — Dmitry Kholodov en.wikipedia.org ↗
- Committee to Protect Journalists
- The Moscow Times
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.