The Moscow News reports that both men accused of murdering Forbes Russia's editor Paul Klebnikkov in June 2004 have been acquitted of all charges.

La Russophobe dares to wonder how Russians would react if a the editor of a famous Russian publication were murdered at his American office, an "investigation" followed resulting in a "trial" with no convictions for any crime.

La Russophobe is reminded that it isn't only dark-skinned foreigners who get cut down in Russia (La Russophobe can just imagine the crazed Russophile screaming: "Aha! You see! We're equal opportunity killers!").

RIA Novosti adds that Klebnikov's family's reaction to the acquittal was: "We agree with the ruling and are not going to appeal the verdict at all." This is only surprising until you realize that the family has been saying from the beginning that the government had the wrong men as part of a conspiracy to let the real killers go free. You see, in yet another ludicrous example of neo-Soviet behavior, the Kremlin tried to blame the killing on the Chechens. But Klebnikov wasn't attacking the Chechens, he was attacking the Kremlin. And after all, as they say, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Meanwhile, the News also reports that the acquittals of Yevgeny Khudyakov and Sergei Arakcheyev, two Russian Army officers accused of the barbaric murders of civilians in Chechnya, has been overturned by the Constitutional Court. Since this was the second time a jury ignored the obvious guilt of the pair, the Court suggested that the two men be retried without a jury; apparently, Russians are so fundamentally hostile to Chechnya that no jury will ever convict a Russian for killing a Chechen, no matter the circumstances.

La Russophobe dares to wonder how Russians can possibly argue that Chechnya is a "part" of Russia when they have this fundamentally hostile attitude towards its people.