Career
Born in Uzbekistan of Russian parents, she moved to Kazakhstan where she met one of NTK"s owners, Rakhat Aliyev, a senior government official who was related by marriage to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. When Aliyev was named ambassador to Austria in 2002, Novikova followed him to Vienna and allegedly became romantically involved. Novikova died violently under mysterious circumstances on June 19, 2004, after a fall from the Beirut apartment building where she lived.
Her body was flown from Lebanon to a remote area in Kazakhstan and "secretly buried in a pre-prepared place," according to a Kazakhstan Interior Ministry spokesman.
Esten died in a traffic accident in Austria in 2005. After Novikova"s body was discovered and identified in July 2007, police raised a possible link between the dead woman and Aliyev because her remains had been taken from Lebanon to the secret burial site by people connected to the Nurbank Murder Case in which Aliyev was implicated.
Aliyev was convicted in Kazakhstan of crimes in the Nurbank case, and in June 2014 turned himself in to Austrian authorities on an international warrant for his arrest. Aliyev always maintained his innocence.
The widows of the murdered Nurbank executives started an organization called Tagdyr that advocates on behalf of the victims of Aliyev and his associates.
On the 10 year anniversary of Novikova"s death an international movement called JusticeForNovikova.com began with the intention to bring her murderer, Rakhat Aliyev to justice. On June 19, 2014 protest were held at Lowndes Square. and according to Cable News Network, on July 21 protests also occurred in front of the Vienna Criminal Court, where Aliyev had a scheduled court hearing. From jail, Aliyev denounced the Justice for Novikova protesters as agents of the Kazakhstan secret services, an accusation consistent with his denunciations of high-profile European political figures.
Aliyev reportedly branded his critics in the West as paid agents of Kazakhstani intelligence, and has surfaced forged documents in an effort to defame his detractors.
