Petra Procházková
Encyclopedia
Petra Procházková (ˈpɛtra ˈproxaːskovaː; born October 20, 1964, Český Brod
) is Czech journalist and humanitarian worker. She is best known as a war correspondent
from conflict areas of the former Soviet Union
.
Procházková studied journalistics at Charles University in Prague
(graduated in 1986). In 1989 she started to work in the re-established newspaper Lidové noviny
. In 1992 she became Lidové noviny's Moscow
correspondent. Here she began covering conflict areas—Abkhazia
being the first. During Russian constitutional crisis of 1993
she was the only journalist staying in the besieged Russian White House. In 1994, together with fellow journalist Jaromír Štětina
, Procházková founded the independent journalism agency Epicentrum dedicated to war reporting. In following years they covered events in Chechnya
, Abkhazia, Ossetia
, Georgia
, Tadjikistan, Afghanistan
, Nagorny Karabakh, Kurdistan, Kashmir
and East Timor
. Her work has won her several journalistic awards.
For several years, Procházková concentrated on wars in Chechnya and was in Groznyi when it was bombed for the first time. In June 1995, during the hostage-taking raid at Budyonnovsk
in southern Russia
, she offered herself in exchange for hostages taken from the hospital. Procházková reported the horrors of both the first
and second Chechen War
, often to the dismay of Russian authorities. During that time, she started to organize relief efforts for families ravaged by war. In 2000 she limited her work as a journalist and dedicated herself to humanitarian work, establishing a shelter for orphans in Groznyi. Her critique of Russian politics in Chechnya brought punishment—in 2000 she was forbidden to stay in Russia for a period of several years.
After return from Russia to the Czech Republic, Procházková founded a small humanitarian organisation Berkat which concentrates on aid mainly to Chechnya and Afghanistan. Adding to the list of volatile regions she has worked in, she began covering the situation in Afghanistan, and was the last journalist to speak with Ahmed Shah Massoud
before he was killed.
Procházková's second husband, Ibragim Zyazikov, an Ingushethian
from the teip
of Murat Zyazikov
who worked as security guard for the People in Need
organization, was kidnapped in Chechnya in February 2003 and disappeared without trace. In 2006, her son Zafar (named after her third husband, Zafar Paikar, a photographer from Afghanistan) was born.
In 2001, the cash prize of the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award
was passed on to her by Madeleine Albright
.
Ceský Brod
Český Brod is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 35 km east of Prague and had a population of 6,637 in 2005.Rock for People, an annual summer music festival was held in Český Brod from 1995 to 2006...
) is Czech journalist and humanitarian worker. She is best known as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
from conflict areas of the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Procházková studied journalistics at Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
(graduated in 1986). In 1989 she started to work in the re-established newspaper Lidové noviny
Lidové noviny
Lidové noviny is a daily newspaper published in the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily. Its profile is nowadays a national news daily covering political, economic, cultural and scientific affairs, mostly with a centre-right, conservative view...
. In 1992 she became Lidové noviny's Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
correspondent. Here she began covering conflict areas—Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
being the first. During Russian constitutional crisis of 1993
Russian constitutional crisis of 1993
The constitutional crisis of 1993 was a political stand-off between the Russian president and the Russian parliament that was resolved by using military force. The relations between the president and the parliament had been deteriorating for a while...
she was the only journalist staying in the besieged Russian White House. In 1994, together with fellow journalist Jaromír Štětina
Jaromír Štetina
Jaromír Štětina is Czech journalist, writer and politician. He is most known as war correspondent from conflict areas of former Soviet Union.Štětina studied University of Economics, Prague...
, Procházková founded the independent journalism agency Epicentrum dedicated to war reporting. In following years they covered events in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, Abkhazia, Ossetia
Ossetia
Ossetia Ossetic: Ир, Ирыстон Ir, Iryston; Russian: Осетия, Osetiya; Georgian: ოსეთი, Oset'i) is an ethnolinguistic region located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. The Ossetian language is part of the Eastern Iranian branch of the Indo-European...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Tadjikistan, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Nagorny Karabakh, Kurdistan, Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
. Her work has won her several journalistic awards.
For several years, Procházková concentrated on wars in Chechnya and was in Groznyi when it was bombed for the first time. In June 1995, during the hostage-taking raid at Budyonnovsk
Budyonnovsk
Budyonnovsk , also spelled Budennovsk, is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia. Previously, it was named Svyatoy Krest and Prikumsk...
in southern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, she offered herself in exchange for hostages taken from the hospital. Procházková reported the horrors of both the first
First Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
and second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
, often to the dismay of Russian authorities. During that time, she started to organize relief efforts for families ravaged by war. In 2000 she limited her work as a journalist and dedicated herself to humanitarian work, establishing a shelter for orphans in Groznyi. Her critique of Russian politics in Chechnya brought punishment—in 2000 she was forbidden to stay in Russia for a period of several years.
After return from Russia to the Czech Republic, Procházková founded a small humanitarian organisation Berkat which concentrates on aid mainly to Chechnya and Afghanistan. Adding to the list of volatile regions she has worked in, she began covering the situation in Afghanistan, and was the last journalist to speak with Ahmed Shah Massoud
Ahmed Shah Massoud
Ahmad Shah Massoud was a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the name Lion of Panjshir. His followers call him Āmir Sāhib-e Shahīd...
before he was killed.
Procházková's second husband, Ibragim Zyazikov, an Ingushethian
Ingush people
The Ingush are a native ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai . The Ingush are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak the Ingush language...
from the teip
Teip
Teip is a Chechen and Ingush tribal organization or clan, self-identified through descent from a common ancestor and geographic location. There are about 130-233 teips...
of Murat Zyazikov
Murat Zyazikov
Murat Magometovich Zyazikov is the former president of the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia. He was born in what is now Kyrgyzstan. Zyazikov was a controversial politician in Ingushetia.- Political Career :...
who worked as security guard for the People in Need
People In Need (Czech Republic)
People in Need is a Czech nonprofit, non-governmental organization that implements humanitarian relief and long term development projects in crisis regions all over the world, while working to defend human rights and democratic freedom....
organization, was kidnapped in Chechnya in February 2003 and disappeared without trace. In 2006, her son Zafar (named after her third husband, Zafar Paikar, a photographer from Afghanistan) was born.
In 2001, the cash prize of the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award
Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award
The Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award is given annually to people who have dedicated their lives to public service. It was established in 2000 by the Prague Society for International Cooperation and the Global Panel Foundation and is named in honor of the Prague Society's President Marc S....
was passed on to her by Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
.
Books
- Petra Procházková, Jaromír Štětina: Utřete tělesné šťávy (Wipe out the body fluids), 2001, ISBN 80-86103-51-X. Collection of short stories about people pushed outside the society due to wartime cruelty.
- Jaromír Štětina, Petra Procházková: Rošangol, 2003, ISBN 80-86103-70-6. Two stories about women-mothers from the contemporary Afghanistan.
- Petra Procházková: The Aluminium Queen: The Russian-Chechen War Through the Eyes of Women (Aluminiová královna: rusko-čečenská válka očima žen), 2003, ISBN 80-7106-730-X. Document about women struggling for survival in Chechnya during the wars. It was translated into French, Swedish, Polish, Dutch and Estonian.
- Petra Procházková: Frišta, 2004, ISBN 80-7106-792-X. Novel about a Russian-Tadjik woman living in Afghanistan after the fall of Taliban.