Antonio Russo (3 June 1960 – 16 October 2000) was an Italian journalist and Vice-President of the International Press Free lance (FLIP), He was murdered while covering the

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...

Biography

Career

Born in 1961 in

Chieti Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...

, (

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

) was taken from an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

when he was about 6 years old. In eighties, he left the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

in order to study at the Faculty of Philosophy, Sapienza University of Rome at

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a Public university, public research university l ...

in 1986. The same year, he founded with a group of students the magazine '' Philosophema'', which he devoted much of his intellectual commitment. After studying

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, he started doing

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

in the nineties, his first service being a report from

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

(with Radical Radio). He reported from Algeria during the years of bloody repression,

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

and

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

during the Hutu-Tutsi war. He documented the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War,, group=lower-alpha also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year a ...

, and then

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

during the siege. Russo was also sent to

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, where he was the only

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

journalist in the region during the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

bombing. He documented the ethnic cleansing against Albanians Kosovars. On that occasion he was also the protagonist of a daring escape from the Serbian forces, joining a convoy of refugees from Kosovo with a direct train to Macedonia. The convoy stopped along the way and Antonio Russo reached

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

on foot. There was no

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

of him for two days, and he was thought to have been lost. On his return, he received two major journalism awards. Russians denied him entry to

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

, so Russo went to Georgia to cover crimes against civilians there. He sent movies and correspondences to Radical Radio. Russo also intended to interview Vera Putina, a woman who claimed

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

was her lost son.Could this woman be Vladimir Putin's real mother?
The Telegraph. 2008-12-05
. Anticompromat.org Russo was also investigating the Russian request for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

to expel the Radical Party, accused of meddling in the war in Chechnya. Russo planned to return to Rome by October 16 with the information he had gathered.

Death

Antonio Russo died in the night between 15 and 16 October 2000 in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, where he was sent by Radical Radio to document the crimes in Chechnya. The Farnesina announced that his body was found on the edge of a country road, near the village of Udzharma, 25km from Tbilisi (the same road leads to the Vaziani Military Base, where Russian forces were stationed at the time). The body was bruised and showed signs of torture, with techniques related to special military services. The autopsy revealed that Russo was killed by blows to the chest that caused fatal internal injuries. The

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

Nugzar Khambashidze, who was in charge of the investigation, initially claimed to be able to exclude each track policy. Russo's apartment had been searched and looted; his laptop computer, mobile telephone, video camera, and three videotapes were missing. The circumstances of death were never clarified; many blame the regime of Vladimir Putin.

Recognition

Two films have been devoted to his work in Chechyna. In May 2009, Daniel Biacchessi wrote the story of Antonio Russo in his book ''Passione reporter''.

Awards

1999, 10 October (

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

) - "Prize Andrea Barbato] Ethics of objectivity" III° Edition 1999, 28 May (

Sarteano Sarteano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena. Sarteano is particularly important from the historical point of view. Located betwe ...

) - VII° Journalist Award

"Clean Pens". 1999 - XX° Saint-Vincent_with_the_High_Patronage_of_the_President_of_Italy.html" ;"title="Saint-Vincent, Aosta Valley">Saint-Vincent with the High Patronage of the President_of_the_Republic. 2006,_September_11_-_Prize_Witness_for_Peace 2012,_October_15_(Rome.html" ;"title="President of Italy">President of the Republic. 2006, September 11 - Prize Witness for Peace 2012, October 15 (Rome">President of Italy">President of the Republic. 2006, September 11 - Prize Witness for Peace 2012, October 15 (Rome) - Prize Italy Human Rights "Global and Human Civilization"

Film

2003- was released in cinemas L'inquilino di via Nikoladze by the director Massimo Guglielmi (UNESCO Prize 2005). 2004- was released in cinemas Chechnya, a film about the history of the war reporter, by Leonardo Giuliano with Gianmarco Tognazzi in the role of Antonio Russo distributed by Stazione Marittima Spa and supported by the

Ministry of Heritage and Culture The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MOHT) is the governmental body in the Sultanate of Oman responsible for promoting and preserving Omani heritage and tourism. The current Minister of Heritage and Tourism is Salem bin Mohammed Al Mahrooqi ...

(

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

)

References

External links

Antonio Russo
- The Committee to Protect Journalists
Full video and transcription of last public speech of Antonio Russo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russo, Antonio 1960 births 2000 deaths Assassinated Italian journalists Second Chechen War Journalists killed in Georgia (country) 20th-century Italian journalists Italian male journalists 20th-century Italian male writers