Grigorii Bondarevskii, a distinguished professor and member of the Academy of Scientists, was killed in Moscow on 7 August, presumably the victim of a robbery, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" and gazeta.ru reported on August 11.

Bondarevskii, 83 years old and a noted Islamist who was an adviser to the director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, was struck several times on the head with a blunt object in his Moscow apartment, which police say was then robbed.

Bondarevskii often commented on events in Chechnya, the rest of the Caucasus, and Iraq. "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported that Bondarevskii's desk had been searched and that his mobile phone was taken during the robbery, meaning that the attack could have been motivated by a desire for information.