SNA CHECHENPRESS, Official information section, May, 31st 2009
The Government of the CRI expresses its deepest condolences to Andrei Nekrasov because of the untimely death of his wife, Olga Konskaya. Olga’s devoted and selfless work for the sake of spreading the truth about the genocide in Chechnya, perpetrated by the Kremlin leadership, deserves the highest moral recognition, respect and gratitude of the whole of the Chechen people. Olga has unflinchingly and consistently came out in favour of independent statehood of the Chechen republic, in the marked contrast to many members of Russian human rights and “democratic” community who toe the Kremlin’s line in the matter of the violation of the basic rights of an entire nation. Olga has done a lot for the cause of preservation of the language and culture of the Chechens forced into exile by war and the state sponsored terror. It was to the refugees’ children especially that Olga devoted her energy and love. Being highly conscientious and creative person, Olga was the closest associate and comrade in arms of Andrei Nekrasov, the creator of the world famous documentaries about the crimes of the Kremlin’s regime against the peoples of the Caucasus, and Russia’s own dissident’s brave enough to challenge the tyranny. A fond memory of Olga shall live forever in our hearts. The Chairman of the Governement of the CRI
Akhmet Zakaev Olga Konskaya, a prominent Russian film producer, director and actress, died on May 28th at the age of 45. She was a graduate of the famous Moscow Arts Theatre school and went on to work in Stanislavski’s MKHAT theatre. She starred in numerous feature films, receiving the prestigious award for the best lead role at the Kinotaurus Film Festival in 2001. When the Russian government unleashed a brutal military campaign in Chechnya in 2001 Olga broke up with the Russian cultural establishment and started her own company, Dreamscanner Productions, to produce films independent of Putin’s control. Together with her husband Andrei Nekrasov she produced a number of internationally acclaimed documentaries, such as “Disbelief”, “My Friend Sasha, a very Russian Murder”, “Rebellion, the Litvinenko Case”. Until just a few days before her death Olga had been working on a film about Russian aggression in Georgia and its wider Caucasian context. The film is due to be released in the autumn. Olga Konskaya was a selfless and uncompromising fighter against injustices committed in the name of her own people. He was ashamed of Russia’s unquenchable thirst for blood in the Caucasus, of unending campaign of war crimes in Chechnya. Her directness and rare lack of cynicism made her stand out even in the camp of Russian democrats, some of whom tend to reserve criticism of the government for narrow political squabbling, while forgiving its overwhelming nationalistic brutality. Having built relationships with many ordinary Chechens Olga Konskaya formulated an important vision for the sake of independence of the Chechen nation: the urgent task of preserving Chechen language and culture among the young generation of Chechens forced to seek refuge far from home. We are profoundly shaken by Olga’s untimely death. She will not see the fruit of her effort, but the inevitable triumph of justice will bear her unmistakeable mark. She will not be forgotten.
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