MOSCOW, October 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's president said Wednesday he hopes the investigation of all contract killings in Russia will be seen through to the end.
Vladimir Putin, speaking his annual televised question-and-answer session, said the killers of Andrei Kozlov, first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, have already been detained, and an investigation is underway.
"I hope the work on other such crimes will be brought to a solution," Putin said.
He said the investigation of such crimes is a state priority. "This also applies to the killing of journalists, as well as economic crimes."
Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said earlier that Kozlov's work was the probable reason for his assassination.
Kozlov, 41, who oversaw bank licensing and led efforts to close down dozens of banks for violations of banking legislation, particularly on money laundering, died September 14 after being shot the day before. A Moscow court has sanctioned the arrest of three suspects in the murder case.
Russia has been plagued by a series of contract murders in the past few weeks.
Anna Politkovskaya, a 48-year-old investigative journalist known for her outspoken reports on Chechnya, was gunned down in an apparent contract killing in Moscow on October 7.
Dmitry Fotyanov, a mayoral candidate representing United Russia, was shot on October 19 while leaving his office in Dalnegorsk, a town seven time zones east of Moscow.
