THE STORY
NATASHA is the story of a fearless human rights investigator in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. It is not only the tale of her courageous life and heinous murder, but also of the women who continue to risk all, keeping her legacy alive and carrying on her extraordinarily dangerous work.
It’s also the story of the bond between a single mother and a young daughter - loving, complicated, and tragically cut short - amid the horror of the wars in Chechnya, Russia.
And ultimately, it’s a story that asks a universal question: What drives a seemingly ordinary human being to show extraordinary courage in the face of death? And at what cost?
Dmitry Beliakov
For more than a decade, Natalia Estemirova, a history teacher turned human rights activist, worked to uncover many of the worst crimes committed during the Chechen wars – first by the Russian military and later, by the pro-Putin Chechen forces in the region.
Brave, determined, and uniquely resourceful, as the head of the local branch of Memorial, Russia’s most respected human rights group, Estemirova investigated war crimes against civilians in Chechnya -- abductions, torture, and extra-judicial killings-- and helped the victims to bring legal cases against the Russian state. Countless civilians whom Estemirova helped to flee to safety abroad owe their life to her.
A close friend of Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian investigative journalist murdered in 2006, Estemirova became widely known as the most important source of information on civilian atrocities in the region. Journalists and human rights advocates, both in Russia and in the West, relied on her reports.
Long a thorn in the side of Ramzan Kadyrov, Putin’s strongman in the region, Estemirova soon became a target. She would not, though, be intimidated. Estemirovaremained in Chechnya, raising her daughter Lana in a war zone – refusing to choose between her love for her only child and her unyielding sense of justice.
In the summer of 2009, at age 51, Estemirova was abducted by masked men outside her home in Grozny, the Chechen capital. Hours later, her body was found in a field. She had been murdered--shot five times at point blank range. Lana was 15 years old at the time.
Suspicion at once fell on Kadyrov. Many in Moscow and beyond believed that the Chechen leader, angered by Estemirova’s defiance, had wanted to silence her. Even in her final moments, Estemirova fought back: Her killers’ DNA was found beneath her fingernails. Still, more than 15 years later, no arrests have been made, and Kadyrovcontinues to rule Chechnya with Putin’s absolute backing.
In 2022, the Kremlin shut down Memorial, the Russian human rights organization. That same year, Memorial won the Nobel Peace Prize. Lana attended the Nobel ceremony in Norway, at which Estemirova’s work was celebrated.
NATASHA is a tale as revealing of the present as the past. The film also tells the story of the women, who — inspired by Estemirova—continue even today to speak truth to power in the face of impossible odds. Elena Milashina, one of Russia’s most renowned investigative reporters, still reports from Chechnya, putting herself on the line to carry on Estemirova’s investigative work.
Natalia Estemirova was by any measure not only brave, she was a relentless investigator. She gave civilian victims a voice amid the evils of war and paid for her uncompromising beliefs with her life. And yet, Estemirova has been all but forgotten. Few victims in Putin’s Russia deserve more to be heard. And remembered.
Still, more than 15 years later, no arrests have been made. The authorities have denied involvement in the murder, and Ramzan Kadyrov, Putin's proxy in the region, continues to rule Chechnya.
