35,000 Russian murders unsolved since 2001-report

MOSCOW, Aug 21 (Reuters) Russian police have 35,211 unsolved murders on their books from the past six years alone, RIA news agency quoted Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev as saying today.

But Nurgaliyev said police were getting better at solving homicides. He did not give a figure for the total number of murders over the same period. ''Every crime should be solved, that is the policy of the Russian interior ministry,'' he said.

High-profile murders that remain unsolved include the 2006 killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskya and the 2004 shooting of U.S. journalist Paul Klebnikov.

Reuters CS VP0020