Testimony of Sergei Mikhailovich Sokolov

To the Chairman of the Public Commission
for the investigation of the circumstances of the apartment bombings in the cities of Moscow and Volgodonsk and the conduct of exercises in the city of Ryazan in September 1999

Sergei Adamovich Kovalyov

Testimony of Sergei Mikhailovich Sokolov, deputy editor-in-chief of "Novaya Gazeta", witness in the episode "Mylnikov's Letters"

Questions and Answers

Were you interrogated as a witness in the Anatoly Viktorovich Mylnikov case?
I was not interrogated as a witness. Statements were taken regarding the fact of receiving the letter. Moreover, I personally reported it to the FSB using an operative's phone number known to me.

Did you receive an anonymous letter demanding the release of Natalya Zander and threatening explosions "every 7 days" on September 7, 1999?
Yes, I received the letter, I don't remember exactly when.

How did this letter get into your hands?
Through the secretaries who receive the editorial mail.

Who opened the envelope?
I don't remember.

Were there traces of postal processing on the envelope?
I don't remember. There were definitely stamps.

Was the letter handwritten or typed?
Handwritten.

Was it the original or could it have been a Xerox or scanned copy?
As far as I remember — the original.

By what signs could this be judged?
Paper quality, image, color, characteristic marks.

Does the copy of the letter offered to you now look like the one you received in September 1999?
I don't remember the details of that letter exactly, there is a resemblance.

By what signs can this be judged?
Content, appearance. I don't remember the handwriting and details of the text.

S.M. Sokolov
date

Questions were asked by the assistant to Commission member Valentin Gefter
L.I. Evstifeeva