Russian Opposition Leader Is Murdered

Boris Nemtsov is shot to death in Moscow
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 27, 2015 5:09 PM CST
Russian Opposition Leader Is Murdered
Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, in 2012.   (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)

One of Vladimir Putin's most vocal critics has been shot dead in Moscow—and guess who's taking personal charge of the investigation? The Kremlin says Putin himself will handle it, reports AP. Authorities say a gunman in a passing car shot Boris Nemtsov four times in the back as he walked near the Kremlin about midnight local time, reports Reuters. Nemtsov served as a deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin and had emerged in recent years as an opposition leader. Among other things, he has alleged corruption among Kremlin insiders and was to lead a rally in Moscow tomorrow.

The Washington Post adds some strange context to the killing. A few years ago, Putin asserted that his opponents would murder one of their own so they could blame him for it. After he made the comments, Nemtsov himself called on Putin to prevent it. “If the head of the federal government, who controls all intelligence agencies, makes a public statement that he has information about such a provocation and such a crime, he must do everything to prevent it and not just publicly scare Russians,” he told Interfax. (More Boris Nemtsov stories.)

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