Russian Opposition Leader Boris Nemtsov Shot Dead In Moscow

February 27, 2015

MOSCOW (AP) — Boris Nemtsov, a charismatic former deputy prime minister turned Russian opposition leader, was shot and killed in Moscow Saturday, officials said. He was 55.

Nemtsov's death comes just a day before a planned protest against President Vladimir Putin's rule. The Kremlin said that Putin will personally oversee the investigation.

Nemtsov was a sharp critic of Putin, assailing the government's inefficiency, rampant corruption and the Kremlin's policy on Ukraine, which has strained Russia-West ties to a degree unseen since Cold War times.

The Russian Interior Ministry, which oversees Russia's police force, said that Nemtsov was shot four times from a passing car as he was walking a bridge just outside the Kremlin shortly after midnight.

Nemtsov served a deputy prime minister in the 1990s and once was seen as a possible successor to Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first elected president. After Putin was first elected in 2000, Nemtsov became one of the most vocal critics of his rule. He helped organize street protests and wrote extensively about official corruption.

Crime scene where Russian opposition leader Nemtsov was shot. Two steps from the Kremlin.

Boris Nemtsov, Critic of Putin, Is Shot Dead in Moscow
Friday February 27th, 2015 at 6:58 PM

A prominent opposition leader, Boris Y. Nemtsov, was shot to death on a street in central Moscow on Friday night, the Russian Interior Ministry confirmed to the news agency Interfax.

Mr. Nemtsov, 55, was one of the principal organizers of an opposition march scheduled for Sunday in Moscow.

A smooth-talking and worldly man who spoke accented but near-perfect English, Mr. Nemtsov rose to prominence as the governor of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and became a vice premier in the late 1990s, during the last years of Boris Yeltsin’s presidency.

Since leaving the Duma, the lower house of Russia’s Parliament, in 2003, he has founded and led a number of opposition parties and organizations, the latest being the Republican Party of Russia – People’s Freedom Party, a registered political party.

Boris Nemtsov on Twitter: "Антивоенный антикризисный Марш Весна. На Эхе http://t.co/QbVeclFZ1z"
Friday February 27th, 2015 at 6:57 PM

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Борис Немцов: Боюсь того, что Путин меня убьет
Friday February 27th, 2015 at 6:56 PM

Известный политик Борис Немцов опасается, что президент РФ Владимир Путин «закажет» его за оппозиционные высказывания.

Своими опасениями известный политик до сегодняшнего дня делился только с самым близким человеком — с мамой, но наконец решился рассказать обо всем публично — через «Собеседник»:

— Я никогда не скрывал своих политических взглядов, — для начала напомнил Борис Немцов в личном разговоре с корреспондентом «Собеседника». — Считаю, что именно он [Путин] развязал войну на Украине. Отношусь к нему хуже некуда. Особенно после событий «Норд-Оста» и Беслана.

Своими взглядами политик и общественный деятель чаще всего, по его признанию, делится со своей мамой.

— Мою дорогую мамочку зовут Дина Яковлевна Эйдман, в марте ей, дай Бог, исполнится 87 лет, — рассказал мне Борис Немцов. — Она заслуженный врач-педиатр, уже давно на пенсии, но до сих пор интересуется всем, что связано с медициной. Она прожила очень тяжелую жизнь: во время войны, будучи школьницей, рыла окопы, потом воспитывала двоих детей. Сейчас я живу в Москве, а мамочка в Нижнем Новгороде, одна, но поживает она отлично. У нее седых волос меньше, чем у меня, у нее нет склероза, она в абсолютно здравом уме и ясной памяти. Обсуждаем с ней успехи моих детей и ее внуков. О политике с мамочкой тоже поговорить очень любим. Она категорически против того, что происходит на Украине, считает, что это катастрофа и полный кошмар. Но больше Украины ее волнует Путин. Всякий раз, как я ей звоню, она причитает: «Когда ты прекратишь ругать Путина? Он тебя убьет!» И это на полном серьезе.

К ВВП она относится, естественно, очень плохо — я же ее сын, в конце концов. Мама меня всегда приучала к тому, что надо отстаивать свою точку зрения, быть независимым и самостоятельным. На свою голову меня таким воспитала, а теперь возмущается, что я ругаю Путина, который пытается у нас с вами отобрать свободу. Она реально боится, что он меня может убить в ближайшее время из-за моих выступлений — как в реальной жизни, так и в социальных сетях. И это, повторюсь, не шутки: она умный человек. Она очень этого боится. Она и за Ходорковского (его она видела еще до посадки и дружит с ним) с Навальным очень переживает, но за них не так сильно, так как она все же моя мама, а не их.

Мама Немцова боится, что Путин его убьет

Фото: Global Look Press

— Интересно. А вы после таких вот разговоров с мамой стали опасаться, что Путин может вас в ближайшее время убить лично или через посредников?

— Вы знаете, да... Немного. Не так сильно, как мама, но все же... Но все же я не так сильно его боюсь. Если бы я боялся очень сильно, то вряд ли возглавлял бы оппозиционную партию, вряд ли бы занимался тем, чем занимаюсь. Передавайте, кстати, от меня и мамочки привет Дмитрию Быкову.

— Спасибо, передам. Надеюсь, все-таки здравый смысл восторжествует и Путин вас не убьет.

— Дай Бог. И я надеюсь.

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BBC News - Russia opposition politician Boris Nemtsov shot dead
Friday February 27th, 2015 at 6:54 PM

BBC News - Europe

27 February 2015 Last updated at 17:50 ET

Boris Nemtsov was one of Russia's leading economic reformers in the 1990s (file photo from 2009)

A leading Russian opposition politician, former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, has been shot dead in Moscow, Russian officials say.

An unidentified attacker shot Mr Nemtsov four times in central Moscow, a source in the law enforcement bodies told Russia's Interfax news agency.

He was reportedly shot near the Kremlin while walking with a woman.

He died just before a march in Moscow against the war in Ukraine which he was actively promoting.

In a recent interview, he had said he feared Russian President Vladimir Putin would have him killed because of his opposition to the war in Ukraine.

Mr Putin has condemned the killing, a Kremlin spokesman told news agencies.

Mr Nemtsov, 55, served as first deputy prime minister under the late President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s.

He had earned a reputation as an economic reformer while governor of one of Russia's biggest cities, Nizhny Novgorod.

Falling out of favour with Yeltsin's successor, Mr Putin, Mr Nemtsov became an outspoken opposition politician.

Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, condemned the killing, saying in atweet: "I am shocked and appalled key opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was shot. Killers must be brought to justice."

'Putin's aggression'

According to Russian-language news website Meduza, "several people" got out of a car and shot him.

He was shot in the back with a pistol from a white car which fled the scene, Interfax's source said.

One of the politician's colleagues in his RPR-Parnassus party, Ilya Yashin, confirmed Mr Nemtsov's death.

"Unfortunately I can see the corpse of Boris Nemtsov in front of me now," he was quoted as saying by Russia's lenta.ru news website.

"At the Bolshoy Zamoskvoretsky Bridge. I see the body and lots of police around it."

In his last tweet, Mr Nemtsov sent out an appeal for Russia's divided opposition to unite at an anti-war march he was planning for Sunday.

"If you support stopping Russia's war with Ukraine, if you support stopping Putin's aggression, come to the Spring March in Maryino on 1 March," he wrote.

Speaking earlier this month to Russia's Sobesednik news website, he had spoken of his fears for his own life.

"I'm afraid Putin will kill me," he said in the article on 10 February (in Russian).

I believe that he was the one who unleashed the war in the Ukraine," he said. "I couldn't dislike him more."

Mr Putin has been widely accused of fomenting the bloody rebellion in east Ukraine - an accusation he denies.

Almost 5,800 people have died and at least 1.25 million have fled their homes, according to the UN.

The Ukrainian government, Western leaders and Nato say there is clear evidence that Russia is helping the rebels with heavy weapons and soldiers.

Independent experts echo that accusation while Moscow denies it, insisting that any Russians serving with the rebels are "volunteers".

Are you in Russia? What is your reaction to the death of Boris Nemtsov? You can emailhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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boris nemtsov - Google Search
Friday February 27th, 2015 at 6:51 PM

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Boris Efimovich Nemtsov (Russian: Борис Ефимович Немцóв; 9 October 1959 – 27 February 2015) was a Russian statesman and liberal politician, a co-chair ...

‎Early life - ‎Political career - ‎Later career - ‎Arrests and imprisonment

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