Today, 14 October 2024, press freedom week opened in the free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg at the City Hall .

It has become a good tradition to hold a press freedom forum in Hamburg in autumn, during which journalists, public figures and government representatives discuss the relationship between the authorities and the journalistic community in the world.

Whereas last year the main guest of the forum was Dmitry Muratov, winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize and editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, this year's key topic was a speech by Mr Glauton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders USA.

Dr. Carsten Brosda, Senator of the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media, addressed the event with a welcoming speech.

He was followed by dialogue speeches by Dr. Lothar Dittmer, Chairman of the Board of the Körber Foundation and Prof. Manuel J. Hartung, Chairman of the Board of the Time Bucerius Foundation.

This was followed by a presentation by Glauton Weimers.

The forum concluded with a discussion on the role and challenges of the modern press, in which, in addition to the American guest, Mrs Grit Baldauf, Regional Manager for Central Saxony, Free Press and Dr Christian-Mathias Welbrock, Head of Innovation and Research at the Hamburg Media School, took part.

After the official part of the event was over, the forum participants had the opportunity to socialise amongst themselves in an informal setting.

Galina and I really enjoyed meeting and talking to Ilya Politkovsky.

Ilya flew to Hamburg to attend the opening ceremony of the Anna Politkovskaya Square  named after his mother and, at the invitation of the event organisers, took part in the opening of the Hamburg Free Press Week.

Photo 1: Hamburg Free Press Week;

Photo 2. Town Hall Hall where the forum was held;

Photo 3. Hamburg's Senator for Culture and Media, Dr Carsten Brosda;

Photo 4. From left to right: Professor Manuel J. Hartung and Dr Lothar Dittmer;

Photo 5. Glauton Wymers' presentation;

Photo 6. From left to right: Dr Christian-Mathias Welbrock, Mrs Grit Baldauf and Glauton Weimers;

Photo 7. From left to right: Galina Goncharenko, Ilya Politkovsky and Alexander Goncharenko.

Alexander Goncharenko, Russian political émigré

Today, on October 10, 2024, a new square named after Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist of Novaya Gazeta, who was killed in 2006, appeared in the list of many squares and streets in Hamburg.

The decision to name one of the squares of Hamburg in honor of the Russian journalist was made by the authorities of Hamburg.

The opening ceremony of the square was organized by the Zeit Stiftung Bucerius Foundation, which supports independent journalists.

Anna's son, Ilya Politkovsky, took part in the event.

The city authorities were represented at the ceremony by the first persons of the city: First Mayor Peter Tschentscher and Senator of Culture and Mass Media Carsten Brosda. Both are directly related to the Hamburg Foundation for Politically Persecuted, of which I was lucky enough to be a guest. Dr. Peter Tschentscher is the chairman of the Hamburg Foundation for Politically Persecuted, and Dr. Carsten Brosda holds the position of Managing Director.

The ceremony was attended by a delegation of Anna Politkovskaya's colleagues in journalism, led by Kirill Martynov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europa newspaper. Novaya Gazeta Europa was the first media outlet to publish a report from the commemorative event.

After a short official part, the participants of the ceremony proceeded to the square, where Anna Politkovskaya Square was solemnly opened, laid flowers at the memorial stone, on which the immortal words of Anna Politkovskaya are carved: "If I stop writing, know that my enemies have achieved their goal." Unfortunately, on October 7, 2006, Anna stopped writing, and her brave and caring heart stopped beating.

The perpetrators of Anna's murder have not been named so far. Streets in Georgian Tbilisi and Italian Ferrara, a park in Karlovy Vary and a garden in Milan and an alley in Prague were previously named after Anna Politkovskaya. Hamburg Square became the second named after Anna. Earlier in Paris, one of the squares of the city was named after Anna Politkovskaya. Unfortunately, the memory of Anna Politkovskaya is much more modestly perpetuated in Russia. Only in Moscow, in Potapovsky Lane, on the building of the Novaya Gazeta editorial office, a memorial plaque of Anna Politkovskaya was unveiled in 2013.

Despite the weekday and the early time of the ceremony (10 a.m.), people who share a common historical homeland with Anna came to the grand opening of the square, among them were my colleagues from the informal Russian-speaking movement "Anti-War Hamburg".

Now, in addition to Tchaikovsky Square in Hamburg, there is another name that caresses the Russian ear - Anna Square Politkovskaya.

Photo 1. Address plate of Anna Politkovskaya Square on the background of the flag of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg;

Photo 2. Memorial stone of Anna Politkovskaya;

Photo 3. Anna Politkovskaya's immortal words are carved in stone;

Photo 4. From left to right: Carsten Brosda, Ilya Politkovsky, Peter Tschentscher;

Photo 5. There was a queue of people who wanted to lay flowers;

Photo 6. First Mayor Peter Tschentscher and Senator Carsten Brosda lay flowers at the memorial stone;

Photo 7. Flower-laying ceremony;

Photo 8. Kirill Martynov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europa;

Photo 9. Alexander Goncharenko at the memorial stone of Anna Politkovskaya;

Photo 10. Anna Politkovskaya's memorial stone in flowers;

Photo 11. This is what Anna Politkovskaya Square in Hamburg looks like now.

October 10, 2024

Alexander Goncharenko, Russian political emigrant