Opposition to march in honour of slain Putin critic
MOSCOW — Russia’s opposition was to march through Moscow Sunday in an important test of its support after one its key leaders was gunned down near the Kremlin.
The vigil to honour Boris Nemtsov was to run through the city centre and end at the bridge not far from the domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral where the 55-year-old former deputy prime minister and outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin was slain Friday night.
Nemtsov, who played a prominent role after the Soviet collapse before falling out of favour, was helping plan a protest Sunday against Putin’s rule.
His assassination potentially further weakens the president’s foes who have struggled to gain traction as the government has taken control of independent media and Putin has enjoyed near-record approval ratings following his annexation of the Crimean Peninsula last year from Ukraine.
Russia’s criminal investigative committee said it was looking at several possible motives for the murder, including whether Nemtsov was used as a sacrificial lamb to destabilize the country or if Islamist extremists angry over his support for French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo killed him.
Nemtsov was shot in one of the country’s most heavily guarded spots where security cameras monitor practically every inch of space. He was killed after a car approached and fired several shots, four of which hit him in the back, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Elena Alekseeva said.
A Ukrainian woman walking with him wasn’t injured.
“There is no doubt the crime was carefully planned, as well as the place chosen for the murder,” Vladimir Milov, a former deputy energy minister, wrote on his blog.
“I have talked to my acquaintances who worked in special services, and I have less and less doubt that the killing of Boris Nemtsov is backed by the authorities.”
The shooting comes as the U.S. and its European allies are locked in the tensest standoff with Russia since the Cold War.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement Friday night that he was “shocked and saddened” to learn Nemtsov had been shot.
“Mr. Nemtsov will be remembered as a fearless advocate of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Russia,” the statement said.
Nemtsov had been getting death threats and was working on a report about Putin and Russia’s involvement in Ukraine’s civil war, according to Ilya Yashin, an opposition leader.
In 2011, he published a report that focused on how Putin’s friends and relatives benefited from the regime and on the perks he enjoyed as the head of an oil-rich state.