Sergey Ivanov

Lada-TV

October 3, 2000, in Togliatti, Russia

At around 10 p.m., unknown gunmen killed Ivanov, the director of the largest independent television company in Togliatti, a town in Samara Province, in front of his apartment building. Ivanov was shot five times in the head and chest.

Lada-TV, which the 30-year-old Ivanov had headed since 1993, was a significant player on the local political scene. At year's end, investigators had not ruled out a possible commercial or programming dispute as motivation for the murder. Station staffers told CPJ that they had no idea about the motive.

Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.

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• Attacks on the Press 2000: Russia, March 19, 2001