By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

MOSCOW, Russia – Outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, Boris Nemtsov, a Russian opposition politician and former Deputy Prime Minister was shot dead just meters from the Kremlin in central Moscow late on Friday. Nemtsov, who was 55 years old, was shot four times in the back, the Interior Ministry said. A police spokeswoman on the scene said he had been walking on a bridge over the Moskva River with a Ukrainian woman. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced through a spokesperson he would be taking the investigation of the murder into presidential command, claiming it could have been a contract killing and a “provocation” on the ahead of a large demonstration that Nemtsov had was to lead in Moscow on Sunday.

PHOTO: Russian opposition Boris Nemtsov speaks during a rally against the intervention in Ukraine and a possible war in Crimea in Moscow, March 15, 2014 Nemtsov was reportedly preparing a report on Russian troops in eastern Ukraine before he was murdered in the streets of Moscow. (Photo courtesy of ABC News)

The gunmen, who remains unknown, fired at least eight shots, killing Nemtsov. Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said an investigation is ongoing and witnesses will be questioned. “Witnesses to the killing are being questioned, and the crime scene is being carefully examined,” Markin said. A Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Putin was aware of the killing and called it a provocation. “Putin noted that this cruel murder has every sign of being a contract one which has solely provocative nature,” Peskov said. “The president has ordered the leadership of the Investigative Committee, the Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service to form an investigative group and keep the investigation of this crime under personal control,” Peskov added, describing the presidential committee that is to be established to investigate the murder, a committee that will likely face criticism due to the potential biased involvement of the Putin regime.

Nemtsov was one of the organizers of large street demonstration in opposition of the Russian President in recent years. Nemtsov always marching at the front of the crowd and addressed the large crowds on stage. While he served as deputy prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin during the 1990s, Nemtsov fell out of Putin’s close circle and founded Russia’s People’s Freedom Party in opposition to the Putin leadership that dominates Russian politics and civil society. He was also the author of several reports on corruption in the Russian Federation, including attempts to estimate President Putin’s actual wealth as well as attempts to estimate the amount of money stolen during preparations for last year’s Winter Olympics in the resort town of Sochi.

Nemtsov had expressed concern that Vladimir Putin might want him dead because of his strong opposition to Russia’s actions in the Ukraine. The upcoming opposition march on Sunday was intended to protest against Russia’s war and occupation in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian rebels have seized Ukrainian territory. According to Ksenia Sobchak, another prominent opposition figure in Russia, Nemtsov had been preparing a report on the illegal presence of Russian troops in Ukraine. The Kremlin strongly denies allegations by Kiev and the west that his regime has sent troops into the country.

For more information please see:

ABC News – Boris Nemtsov, Vocal Critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Shot Dead in Moscow – 27 February 2015

BBC News – Russia Opposition Politician Boris Nemtsov Shot Dead – 27 February 2015

The New York Times – Boris Nemtsov, Putin Foe, Is Shot Dead In Shadow of Kremlin – 27 February 2015

Reuters – Russian Opposition Leader Nemtsov Shot Dead In Moscow – 27 February 2015

Author: Impunity Watch Archive