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Paul Klebnikov (1963 - 9 July 2004) (Пол Павeл Хлебников) was a Russian journalist. Born in New York, USA, Klebnikov attended Phillips Exeter Academy, graduated from University of California, Berkeley and London School of Economics and joined Forbes in 1989. He rose to the position of senior editor at the magazine, specializing in Russian and Eastern European politics and economics, before becoming the first editor of Forbes Russian edition when it was launched in April 2004.
He wrote Godfather of the Kremlin (September 2000), a biography of Boris Berezovsky, a Russian tycoon. Berezovsky was openly critical of Klebnikov's writings, particularly an article published in Forbes in 1996 about his (alleged) criminal activities for which he filed a libel suit. Forbes was forced to retract the allegations. Berezovsky is wanted in Russia on fraud charges and was granted political asylum in UK.
Murder
Klebnikov was shot to death on a Moscow street late at night by Chechen assailants on 9 July 2004.
The publisher of Forbes Russian edition has said that the murder is "definitely linked to his professional activity". According to Russia's radio Ekho-Moskvy, Klebnikov said that he had not received specific threats after publishing a list of Russia's wealthiest people, but rather suspect the murder may have stemmed from Klebnikov's revelations of ties between Chechen warlords and the exiled tycoon Boris A. Berezovsky.
On November 29 2004 two main suspects (Kazbek Dukuzov and Musa Vakhayev) were arrested in Minsk, Belarus, to where they fled from Russia. Both arrested men are ethnically Chechen and are Russian citizens. They are being held in Minsk KGB jail and will be handed over to Russians.
Literature
- Paul Klebnikov: Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism, ISBN 0156013304
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