Russians and Chechens alike yesterday mourned the death of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, saying her murder was an attempt to stifle the free press. The United States said it was ?shocked and profoundly saddened? by the murder of Politkovskaya, a 48-year-old mother of two who won worldwide fame and numerous prizes for her dogged pursuit of rights abuses by Putin?s government.

But there was still no word from the Kremlin, whose ?anti-terror campaign? in the violent southern province of Chechnya had often been the target of Politkovskaya?s investigative reporting. Politkovskaya was shot dead on Saturday at her apartment block in central Moscow in a killing prosecutors linked to her work. A surveillance camera showed the suspect ? a tall man in black wearing a baseball cap ? quickly leaving the scene.

Hundreds of Muscovites thronged Pushkinskaya Square in central Moscow, lit candles and laid flowers at Politkovskaya?s portraits in tribute to her. ?This is a political killing, there is no doubt about it, and the authorities are mixed up in this,? Valery Borshchev, a member of Russia?s liberal Yabloko party, told reporters.

The U.S. State Department said Politkovskaya was ?personally courageous and committed to seeking justice even in the face of previous death threats?. Washington and the European Union urged Russia?s government to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation ?to bring to justice all those responsible for this heinous murder?.

Putin had often been the target of her stinging criticism. She accused him of stifling freedom and failing to shake off his past as a KGB agent. Her death came on the day Putin turned 54.

?Mouthpiece of truth?

In the days before her death, Politkovskaya had been working on a story about torture in Chechnya, which she scheduled for today, her newspaper Novaya Gazeta said. The newspaper said her death had disrupted the publication. In Chechnya?s capital Grozny, many remembered Politkovskaya saying the region had lost an undaunted and truthful friend. ?Chechnya has lost a real mouthpiece of truth, because it is through her that the world learned about all the lawlessness done here,? said Mustafa Kurkiyev, an independent journalist. ?For someone, she must have been a pain in the neck.?

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said Politkovskaya?s murder was a ?shocking outrage that will stun journalists across the world?. Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, a shareholder in Politkovskaya?s newspaper Novaya Gazeta, has called the killing a ?a blow to the entire democratic, independent press?.

Olesya DMITRACOVA