Vladislav Listyev - Death

Death

Shortly after his appointment, on the evening of March 1, 1995, when returning from the live broadcast of his evening show Chas Pik, Listyev was shot dead on the stairs of his apartment building. Valuables and a large sum in cash that Listyev had on him were left untouched, leading the investigators to conclude that the murder was either a political or business-related assassination. However, despite numerous claims made by investigators that the case was close to resolution, neither the gunmen, nor those who ordered the killing, were found.

The killing caused an enormous public outcry—in an unprecedented move, ORT and several other Russian TV Channels shut down for the whole day on March 2, displaying only the picture of Listyev and the words "Vlad Listyev Has Been Killed." Days later, the channel was reorganized and after a number of different incarnations, came back as the government-controlled Channel One that Russian viewers are now familiar with. Listyev's wake was visited by thousands of people, and even the ailing Boris Yeltsin was forced to make a statement.

There has been much speculation as to the reasons behind Listyev's murder, and two possible causes have been isolated as the most likely: financial and political. When Listyev put the middlemen advertising agencies out of business, he deprived many corrupt businessmen of a source for enormous profits. From the political standpoint, Listyev enjoyed an enormous popularity rating among Russian citizens and could potentially influence the political mood of the whole country.

Paul Klebnikov's article Godfather of the Kremlin? in Forbes accused Boris Berezovsky of ordering the murder. Berezovsky sued the magazine for libel in British court. Klebnikov expanded allegations in his book Godfather of the Kremlin: Boris Berezovsky and the looting of Russia. Forbes stated in court that it didn't have evidence of Berezovsky's complicity in Vlad Listyev's murder or any other murder.

According to Yuri Felshtinsky and Vladimir Pribylovsky, top KGB officers Alexander Korzhakov and Alexander Komelkov may have plotted Listyev's murder at the hands of Solntsevskaya bratva. The authors implied that the motive was to steal the TV advertisement revenue and sponsor Oleg Soskovets for Russia's presidency. The authors believed that Korzhakov also used the murder to blame Berezovsky and to prepare his arrest.