Yuri Shchekochikhin, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Yuri Shchekochikhin

Russian journalist

Date of Birth: 09-Jun-1950

Place of Birth: Ganja, Azerbaijan

Date of Death: 03-Jul-2003

Profession: politician, journalist

Nationality: Russia

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Yuri Petrovich Shchekochikhin (Russian: ?´??? ?????´??? ??????´???, IPA: ['j?r??j p??'trov??t? ???k?'t?ix??n]; 9 June 1950 in Kirovabad (now Ganja, Azerbaijan) – 3 July 2003 in Moscow) was a Russian investigative journalist, writer, and liberal lawmaker in the Russian parliament.
Shchekochikhin made his name writing about and campaigning against the influence of organized crime and corruption.
His last non-fiction book, Slaves of the KGB, was about people who worked as KGB informers. As a journalist for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta (NG), Shchekochikhin investigated apartment bombings allegedly directed by the Russian secret services and the Three Whales Corruption Scandal which involved high-ranking FSB officers and was related to money laundering through the Bank of New York. Shchekochikhin died suddenly in July 2003 from a mysterious illness a few days before his scheduled departure to the United States, where he planned to meet with FBI investigators.
His medical documents, according to NG, were either lost or destroyed by authorities.
The symptoms of his illness fit a pattern of poisoning by radioactive materials and were similar to the symptoms of Nikolai Khokhlov, Roman Tsepov, and Alexander Litvinenko.
According to Litvinenko and news reports, the death of Yuri Shchekochikhin was a politically motivated assassination.