From The Guardian UK
By Simon Tisdall

The weekend assassination of Anna Politkovskaya, the celebrated investigative journalist who frequently criticised Russia’s ruling elite, was condemned by western media, professional and human rights groups. But it provoked a relatively muted official reaction from most western governments.

An exception was Erkki Tuomioja, the left-leaning foreign minister of Finland, which currently holds the EU presidency. “The fact that this kind of murder is possible challenges the credibility of the country’s government,” he said. “Let’s see how willing and able Russian officials are to solve it … wherever the track leads.”

That is challenging talk. These days most European leaders prefer to appease rather than accuse Vladimir Putin. Europe’s strategically and morally debilitating dependency on Russian oil and gas is one reason. A sense among policymakers that the “new Russia” is ineluctably going its own unsavoury way is another.

Mr Tuomioja’s public anger contrasted sharply with the German government’s reaction. It initially declined to make any comment at all, although the issue was raised during Mr Putin’s visit to Dresden today.

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