Mikhail Beketov

Mikhail Vasilyevich Beketov (; 10 January 1958 – 8 April 2013) was a Russian journalist who came to widespread attention when he was attacked in an assault thought to be connected with his coverage of the planned destruction of the Khimki Forest to make way for the Moscow–Saint Petersburg motorway.

Career Beketov graduated from Moscow State University and worked on the Baikal-Amur motorway. He later moved to Khimki and started publishing a newspaper, Khimkinskaya Pravda (Химкинская правда, Khimki Truth). In the paper, he frequently criticised the local administration for corruption.

Motorway opposition

Beketov covered the construction of the motorway and its potential damage to the environment, particularly around the area of the Khimki Forest, near Moscow. He also covered activists working to prevent the destruction of the forest, like Yevgenia Chirikova.

Intimidation of opposition activists The media have linked Beketov's attack to a wider series of assaults on other journalists and activists connected to the building of the motorway. Among them are: Anatoliy Adamchuk from Zhukovskiye Vesti and Oleg Kashin from Kommersant.

Solidarity with Mikail Beketov

In the autumn of 2010, a series of rallies was held in Moscow and elsewhere against persecution of civil activists and journalists in Russia.

On 27 November 2010, a group of concerned people visited Beketov in his home. They presented him with 501 roses and held a concert. The money for the roses had been collected from sympathisers on the Internet, so that each person could buy one rose.

Death Beketov died at the age of 55 from cardiac arrest on 8 April 2013. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists his death was directly related to injuries he sustained during the 2008 attack. Counting this as cause for his death Forbidden Stories included Beketov in a list of 13 reporters investigating environmental issues that have been killed between 2009 and 2019.

Awards Free Media Awards 2010.