Karina Moskalenko, a lawyer for Politkovskaya's family said that the jury "is ethnically diverse, almost balanced between the sexes, and aged from 35 to 60 years."
On Monday the court turned down prosecutors' request to hold the trial in a closed court and ruled for an open trial. The prosecution argued that material due to be presented as evidence during the trial included classified documents.
Politkovskaya, who gained international recognition for her criticism of the Kremlin and reports of military atrocities against civilians in the troubled Caucasus republic of Chechnya, was gunned down in an elevator in her Moscow apartment building in what police described as a contract killing.
Three men - a former police officer and two brothers from Chechnya - have been charged with involvement in the murder. Sergei Khadzhikurbanov and Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov have been in custody since last August. Investigators have provided no details as to their alleged roles in the crime.
The man suspected of pulling the trigger, Rustam Makhmudov - the eldest of the Makhmudov brothers - remains at large. A separate case has been launched against him. It is still unknown who was behind the killing.
A former Federal Security Service officer, Colonel Pavel Ryaguzov, has also been charged with abuse of office after allegedly telling the killers where Politkovskaya lived.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has been one of the most dangerous countries for reporters, according to international groups. The Committee to Protect Journalists says 49 media professionals have been confirmed killed in Russia since 1992. Only Iraq and Algeria have had more deaths over that time.
The murdered journalist's children said on Monday they had filed a plea for 10 million rubles ($366,000) in compensation. The judge accepted the plea.
