Meduza publishes memoir by daughter of slain Chechen rights activist Natalia Estemirova

The publishing arm of Meduza is releasing 'Please, Live' — a memoir by journalist Lana Estemirova about her childhood in Chechnya and the murder of her mother, renowned human rights defender Natalia Estemirova. Natalia was abducted in Grozny in July 2009 and found shot dead hours later on a roadside in Ingushetia. Her murder remains unsolved to this day.

Meduza's publishing house is set to release a new Russian-language book by journalist Lana Estemirova titled *Please, Live* — a deeply personal memoir about growing up in war-torn and Kadyrov-era Chechnya, and about the life and violent death of her mother, Natalia Estemirova, a prominent human rights activist.

Natalia Estemirova worked for the Memorial Human Rights Centre and dedicated her career to documenting abuses in Chechnya. On 15 July 2009, she was abducted near her home in Grozny. Within hours, her body was found on the roadside along the federal Kavkaz highway in neighbouring Ingushetia, bearing multiple gunshot wounds.

Her killing shocked the international human rights community and drew widespread condemnation. Despite years passing since the murder, the case has never been solved — and a portion of the case materials remains classified to this day.

Lana Estemirova's memoir offers a rare personal account of what it meant to grow up in Chechnya during the turbulent years spanning the late 1990s and early 2000s — through two wars and the subsequent rise of Ramzan Kadyrov's rule. The book is also a daughter's tribute to a mother who refused to be silent in one of the most dangerous places for journalists and activists.

Pre-orders for *Please, Live* are now open through Meduza's publishing platform. The book marks another significant release from Meduza, the independent Russian-language media outlet operating in exile from Riga, Latvia.