She was known for her hard-hitting coverage of the First Chechen War and issues such as the use of special "filtration camps" by Russian authorities to control the population.

[5] Shortly before her death, Chaikova managed to film the devastation and civilian victims in the wake of the Russian raid on the village of Samashki.

Photos were taken before her burial and a forensic examination of her body after exhumation by the local prosecutors suggest that she was blindfolded and bearing signs of severe beatings.

"[7] However, according to Russian special services in 2002, Chaykova was killed by people from the Department of State Security of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

She also did leave a videotape, later smuggled out of Chechnya and delivered to her newspaper, on which she revealed how the FSB had been repeatedly trying to turn her into an informant and that she had refused to comply.

[7][10] Her killing was strongly condemned by the UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor: "It is with profound indignation that I have learned of the assassination of Nadezhda Chaikova.

I call on Russian and international public opinion to defend journalists working for independent and pluralistic media, for the sustainable development of free societies.