9.

Journalist Anna Politkovskaya was assassinated by guns for hire in the lobby of her apartment building on October 7th, 2006 – Putin’s birthday. Politkovskaya exposed corruption in the Russian army and its conduct in Chechnya and was a well-known critic of Putin’s policies. Five men were imprisoned for her murder, but it is unclear who ordered her murder. Rumors persist that her death was a “birthday gift” for Putin.

10.

In 2013, a painting by Konstantin Altunin entitled “Travesty”, as well as several other piece and installations, were confiscated by the Russian police from the Muzei Vlasti. Many of the artists were investigated for extremist propaganda according to local media and the museum, which had recently opened, was forced to close its doors.