A Murder in Kyiv

In the spring of 2005 Brian Knappenberger was asked by Frontline/World to go to the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine to look into the mysterious murder of the journalist, Georgy Gongadze. Georgy was known for his outspoken radio commentary and scathing political articles against Ukraine's former President Kuchma and the corruption swirling around his regime. When Georgy's badly burnt and beheaded body turned up in a shallow grave in a forest outside of Kyiv, many people quickly suspected the government had a hand in the death. Then, bizarre audio tapes surfaced that seemed to show a vengeful and crude Kuchma actually planning and ordering the murder.

The tapes created a public outpouring that eventually lead to the 'Orange Revolution.' Most of us remember that revolution because of the equally bizarre dioxin poisoning and facial disfigurement of it's leader Victor Yuschencko.

I traveled to Ukraine with Georgy's widow, Myroslava Gongadze, on her first trip back to Ukraine since her husband's death. Leaving Ukraine in fear for her life shortly after the murder, the revolution offered her a glimmer of hope to return and dig up answers in the grisly crime. But what started as a personal quest for her soon became much larger -- a referendum on whether the promises of the 'Orange Revolution' were real.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Ukraine
• Gongadze
• Frontline
• Knappenberger
• Kyiv
• Yuschencko