Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (née Mazepa; 30 August 1958 – 7 October 2006) was a Russian journalist and human rights activist, who reported on political events in Russia, in particular, the Second Chechen War (1999–2005). On 7 October 2006, she was murdered in the elevator of her block of apartments, an assassination that attracted international attention. In June 2014, five men were sentenced to prison for the murder, but it is still unclear who ordered or paid for the contract killing.