Samashki, April 1995 — Photographic Evidence and Rights Register

Visual source file SAM-VIS-001 · Editorial research register · 8 November 2026

This register identifies photographic evidence associated with Memorial’s 1995 investigation into the Russian Interior Ministry operation in Samashki. The purpose is to preserve provenance, image captions, relationships to witness accounts and information about publication rights. No copyrighted photographs have been copied, rehosted or embedded here. The source articles linked below may contain disturbing images of bodies, blood or destruction.

Identified historical photographs

SAM-PH-001 · House and vehicle-repair pit on Sharipova Street. Photographer: M. Zamyatin. Date: August 1995. Subject: House no. 45, including damage related to the reported shooting of residents sheltering there; the original caption notes the building had been set on fire. Related victims: Musait Isaev (no. 43) and Nasruldin Bazuev (no. 20), among those described in the associated testimony. Filename in reprint: P-43-1.JPG. Evidence: photographic illustration accompanying Memorial’s interview and site-inspection account. See the source publication and original caption. Rights: permission not established; external reference only.

SAM-PH-002 · Scene of the shooting at Proletarskaya Street. Photographer: V. Lozinsky. Date: April 1995. Subject: interior room photographed after the reported shooting of four Russian residents, three of whom died and one survived. The original caption records visible bullet marks and blood. Related victims: Aleksey (no. 100), Gennadiy (no. 101), Nikolay (no. 102). Filename in reprint: Sladkrwi.JPG. See the source publication and original caption. Rights: permission not established; external reference only; sensitive material.

SAM-PH-003 · Initial burial site on Vygonnaya Street. Photographer: L. Vakhnina. Date: 12 April 1995. Subject: first burial site in the courtyard at Vygonnaya Street no. 53, with the remains of Isa Borshigov and Khizir Khazhbekarov, according to Memorial’s caption. Related victims: nos. 25 and 82. Filename in reprint: Trupy3.JPG. See the source publication and original caption. Rights: permission not established; external reference only; contains human remains.

SAM-PH-004 · Fatal grenade attack at Vygonnaya Street. Photographer: L. Vakhnina. Date: 12 April 1995. Subject: original photo accompanying Memorial’s account of Dzhunid Shuipov (no. 96), who died from a grenade wound sustained in the courtyard of his house. Filename in reprint: Trupy02.JPG. The precise objects and persons visible in the frame must be confirmed before any detailed image caption is published on Ichkeria.net. See the source publication and original caption. Rights: permission not established; external reference only; potentially disturbing content.

Provenance and permitted use

Primary investigative source: Memorial’s original Russian-language Samashki report (1995), which documents the operation and incorporates photographs and witness accounts. The linked historical reprint retains captions naming the photographers. Publication in an online article does not grant others permission to reproduce a photograph. Identifying the photographer does not establish the current copyright holder or the scope of permitted reuse.

Rights clearance steps: identify whether the rights are held by the photographers, their estates, Memorial or another entity; obtain written permission for non-commercial online archival publication on Ichkeria.net; confirm attribution language, permitted file resolution, geographical scope and duration; and preserve documentation of permission. Until then, use source links only. No image should be described as a portrait of a named victim unless its identity is independently confirmed. Never substitute photographs from another date, such as the renewed fighting around Samashki in 1996, for 1995 evidence.

Additional documentary sources

National Security Archive — The Massacre at Samashki and the US Response (2020): declassified diplomatic and intelligence records with contextual images. Its images also require independent rights clearance. Memorial / Kovalev–Orlov joint account of events, 15 April 1995 (English translation). These are documentary links, not a grant to reuse material.

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