Who came up with the idea of the “Flowers for Anna”?

Numerous Anna Politkovskaya memorials were held all over the world before, but this year marked the first time there was an original visual component of this campaign, called the “Flowers for Anna.” Many publications sent their front-page editorials to it, which activists folded to make paper flowers and brought them to the Moscow office of Novaya Gazeta, Politkovskaya’s employer at the time of her death. The Amnesty International suggested that Den take part in this event, together with other international and progressive Russian publications. In the resulting origami bouquet of pages from print and online publications, Den’s flower was... the only one to come from Ukraine.

We have found the person who came up with the artistic embodiment of the Politkovskaya memorial. This is Rina Soloveitchik, a member of the Amnesty International’s International Secretariat of the European and Central Asian Programs. Soloveitchik told Den she disliked excessive publicity. Born in Moscow, she lived in Germany, and now lives in England. She studied at Oxford University and the London School of Economics and Political Science, and contributed articles to publications such as The Moscow Times and Kyiv Post.

“We were sitting in our London office with the Amnesty International’s team and thinking about actions aiming to raise the issues of freedom of speech and the present situation of journalists in Russia, which were held from October 6 through 12 in Moscow,” Soloveitchik told Den. “We were thinking about the best way to express international solidarity with Politkovskaya. I was wondering about papers, trying to establish what beautiful, likeable things could be made out of them. Absolutely spontaneously, this origami idea occurred to me, as I liked to make such folded paper flowers as a child...

“I began to read Politkovskaya’s articles a long time ago. Unfortunately, I never met her in person. I think she embodied a lot of things present in the ideal of journalism as I understand it. They include honesty to oneself and to others, uncompromising attitude, desire to investigate affairs in their entirety. Sincerity and desire to get to the truth are what impresses me about Politkovskaya.”