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Russia:
Young punk musician killed
Timur Kacharava, a Russian musician and founder of the punk-hardcore-trash band Sandinista, has been stabbed to death in the streets of St. Petersburg.
In the evening of 13 November, 2005, 20-year-old Timur Kacharava, a student of St. Petersburg State University, was followed, attacked and killed on the main city avenue by a group of ten men. The men were skinheads and neo-nazis, according to several sources.
A statement of the city prosecutor’s office said it is “considering all possible versions, including that it was a nationalist attack.”
Timur Kacharava died in seconds from the knife stabs piercing his throat, and by the time an ambulance arrived nothing could be done to save his life. His was together with his friend Maxim ‘Zgibov’ Zagibai who survived several knife wounds and serious injuries.
Maxim Zagibai is also a member of the band Sandinista which Timur Kacharava started back in 2003. Timur composed most of the music for the band, and played the lead guitar. In 2005, Timur also joined a d-beat hardcore band named Distress, and he had just returned to Saint Petersburg after a tour in Scandinavia with this band a few days before the incident.
Following the incident, the Moscow Helsinki Group issued a statement accusing the Russian authorities of failing to respond to displays of extremism and indulging nationalists.
“The country’s law enforcement agencies and courts are going to every length to protect nationalists,” Lyudmila Alexeyeva, the organization’s chairperson told reporters.
St. Petersburg has been the scene of numerous racist attacks in recent years. Violent neo-Nazi skinheads are common throughout Western Europe, and frequently target immigrants, homosexuals, anarchists, and radical leftists.
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Timur Kacharava |
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| Update |
A song entitled "Things I Wish", dedicated to the memory of Timur Kacharava, is available as a free download. Nikolai Galen sings, speaks and shouts, among other things, of the socalled 'deep state' issues, skinheads, and the role of the media.
Nikolai Galen: voice & lyrics.
Gülüs Gülcügil: piano & voice.
Onur Türkmen: guitar.
Performance improvised in the MIAM studio, Istanbul Technical University, on 3 april 2006. Music by the performers. For more information about the artists visit www.voiceofshade.net
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