The editor-in-chief of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, known for his investigative reports into the country's business sector, was shot dead on Friday night in Moscow, police said.
Paul Khlebnikov, a US citizen, was hit by four bullets in a street near the magazine's offices in north-east Moscow at around 10:00 pm (2000 GMT) as he headed for the metro, radio Ekho-Moskvy reported.
An unknown assailant fired several shots at the journalist before fleeing in a dark-coloured getaway car being driven by an accomplice. Khlebnikov asked passers-by to alert a friend of his. He died soon afterwards in an ambulance as he was being taken to hospital, Interfax reported.
Khlebnikov, 41, earned himself a reputation in Russia in 1996, while Boris Yeltsin was president, when he wrote an article in Forbes calling exiled Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky the "Godfather of the Kremlin".