In his appeal against the Nikitin-acquittal, the prosecutor demands a third City Court hearing, claiming that the acquittal contradicts the facts. More striking, however, is that he wants the case to be handled “by another judge”.

December 29, 1999 should go down in history as a great day for justice. On the eve of the 21st century the St. Petersburg City Court drew away the ghosts from Russia’s past and opened the door to a bright future for a country that has suffered so much throughout the century that we are about to leave.