Several reports refer to the murder of Konstantin Georgiev (Georgiyev) by an unknown assailant on 28 January 2002 (RFE/RL 29 Jan. 2002; AFP 28 Jan. 2002; Izvestia 29 Jan. 2002; The Moscow Times 30 Jan. 2002). Georgiev was identified as, variously, the general director (ibid.; ibid. 10 Jan. 2003; AFP 28 Jan. 2002; The People's Daily 29 Jan. 2002), director general (Izvestia 29 Jan. 2002), and the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Pekin (Peking) hotel (RFE/RL 29 Jan. 2002). According to reports, a single attacker shot Georgiev in the head and chest (The Moscow Times 30 Jan. 2002; The People's Daily 29 Jan. 2002) as he was leaving a medical centre in Moscow (ibid.; Izvestia 29 Jan. 2002; The eXile 6 Feb. 2002; The Moscow Times 10 Jan. 2003).

According to the Interfax News Agency, police were unable to confirm whether the attack was a contract killing (The People's Daily 29 Jan. 2002; The Moscow Times 30 Jan. 2002). However, Agence France Presse called it "an apparent contract killing (28 Jan. 2002), and the Moscow-based satirical magazine The eXile reported that the Ministry of the Interior (MVD) "thought it was pretty clear that some racketeer killed Georgiev" (6 Feb. 2002).

Authorities reportedly speculated that the murder might be linked to the management of the Pekin hotel's Grand Club Casino (RFE/RL 29 Jan. 2002), and one report cited prosecutors as connecting the murder to an investment project that intended to refurbish the Pekin in the near future (Izvestia 29 Jan. 2002). According to a 10 January 2003 report, beginning in June 2003, an investment firm intends to transform the "long neglected ... city-owned" establishment into a "four star hotel" at the cost of $150 million over three years (The Moscow Times 10 Jan. 2003).

The Research Directorate was unable to find more recent information concerning the investigation of Georgiev's murder or the identity and associations of the assailant, among the sources consulted.

RFE/RL reported that Georgiev's was the third hotelier murdered in Moscow since 1996 (29 January 2002). The previous occasions included the killing of Yevgenii Tsimbalistov, the CEO of the Moscow hotel Rossiya, on 3 January 1998 and the 3 November 1996 murder of Paul Tatum, co-owner of the Radisson-Slavyanskaya (ibid.).

The Research Directorate did not find reports of this incident in the Russian-language archives of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 28 January 2002. "Prominent Moscow Hotel Director Shot Dead." (NEXIS)

The eXile [Moscow]. 6 February 2002. "Death Porn: Sitting Duck." http://exile.ru/134/134101400.html [Accessed 30 May 2003]

Izvestia [Moscow]. 29 January 2002. Yevgeny Chubarov. "Director General of the Peking Hotel is Killed." (NEXIS)

The Moscow Times. 10 January 2003. "Pekin to Get $150M Overhaul." (Global News Wire/NEXIS)

_____. 30 January 2002. "In Brief: Pekin Boss Killed." (Global News Wire/NEXIS)

People's Daily [Beijing]. 29 January 2002. "Boss of Peking Hotel in Moscow Killed." http://english/peopledaily.com.cn/200201/29/eng20020129_89553.shtml [Accessed 30 May 2003]

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 29 January 2002. Newsline. "Head of Famous Moscow Hotel Killed." http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2002/01/1-RUS/rus-290102.asp [Accessed 30 May 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

Keesings' Record of World Events 2002

NEXIS

Internet sites, including:

Argumenti i Facti [Moscow]

Gazeta [Moscow]

Interfax News Agency

ITAR-TASS

Johnson's Russian List

Komsomolskaya Pravda (In Russian)

Pravda

Prima News

Russia Weekly (CDI)

St. Petersburg Times

World News Connection