MR BORIS NEMTSOV, a former Deputy PM, was shot at around 23:40 local time on Friday while crossing Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge accompanied by a woman, Russia’s interior ministry said. He was shot four times in the back while crossing a bridge in view of the Kremlin. The murder comes just hours after Nemtsov appealed for crowds to attend a march to demonstrate against Russia’s involvement in the war in Ukraine. The protest is set to be the first major anti-Putin march in months. Mr Nemtsov himself had said recently that his fierce opposition to Putin’s regime made him fear for his life. Speaking to Russia’s Sobesednik in early February, Mr Nemtsov said: “I’m afraid Putin will kill me.” I believe that he was the one who unleashed the war in the Ukraine. I couldn’t dislike him more.” Since his death, social media has been flooded with tributes to a man remembered by friends as decent, honest and a democrat. He had been pushed to the political margins in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, but he was still prominent enough for someone to want to kill him. The brazen assassination is one of the highest-profile killings in Putin’s 15 years in power and recalls the shooting of anti-Kremlin reporter Anna Politkovskaya, who was gunned down on Putin’s birthday in October 2006. It is also not the first time that Putin’s opponents have been assassinated. In April 2003 – Liberal politician Sergey Yushenkov was assassinated near his Moscow home. In July 2003 – Investigative journalist Yuri Shchekochikhin died after a 16-day mysterious illness. In July 2004 – Forbes magazine Russian editor Paul Klebnikov was shot from moving car on Moscow street, died later in hospital. In November 2006 – Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko died nearly three weeks after drinking tea laced with polonium in London hotel. In March 2013 – Boris Berezovsky, former Kremlin power broker turned Putin critic, was found dead in his UK home. All of these people had one thing in common – they were all fierce opponents of Putin. While the investigative probe lists the Cherlie Hebdo killings as possible reasons for the killing the real reason must remain his fierce opposition to the war in Ukraine and his fierce opposition to Putin. The assassination has killed a Russian leader who was one of the strongest friends of Ukraine in Russia. It is unknown how properly his death will be investigated into, as the impartiality of the probe committee is in question – considering he was a fierce critic of the President. We remain in doubt as to whether a scapegoat will perhaps indeed be found and the real murderers of Boris Nemtsov will be free to roam Moscow’s shadows.
