Alwaght-Famous Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov has been shot
dead in the center of Moscow. The shots
came from a vehicle. Reportedly, Nemtsov
had previously received death threats on social media sites. Suspects have been investigated with and some
have confessed. Analysts conclude that
the assassination plot has been designed in foreign countries.
Nemtsov was shot four times in the center of Moscow at Vasilyevsky
Spusk, a bridge leading to Red Square, according to police.
A law enforcement source said that a white vehicle approached
Nemtsov, fired the shots, and sped away.
Police later said there were three white cars on the bridge during the
shooting, according to footage from street cameras. Two of them were later cleared of any link to
the murder. Some witnesses said the car
containing the suspects was without a license plate.
Shortly before the deadly shooting, Nemtsov had dinner at a
restaurant inside GUM, a department store on Red Square, with the woman he was
with when he was shot. The two then went
for a walk. Her name is not being
released due to the ongoing investigation.
“Nemtsov was walking on Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge with a visitor
from Ukraine. It was then when he was
shot from a car that was passing by,” said the ministry’s official
representative, Elena Alekseeva.
“The woman who was with him is currently being questioned in a
police department,” Alekseeva added.
Police said they believe the murder was planned.
“Nemtsov’s route has been established. Someone apparently followed him from GUM and
told the accomplices the [politician’s] location,” reported a private source. Police found six bullet casings at the crime
scene, Alekseeva said.
Nemtsov’s family lawyer, Vadim Prohorov, said the politician began
receiving various types of threats – including death threats – on social media
sites, a few months ago.
The politician’s family members arrived at the crime scene early on
Saturday. Interior Minister Vladimir
Kolokoltsev spoke to them at the site. Television
host and opposition activist Ksenia Sobchak was among those at the scene.
The assassination came ahead of the annual spring opposition rally
scheduled for March 1 in Moscow, which Nemtsov was set to lead.
Nemtsov, 55, has been in Russian politics for over two decades. He gained popularity as a governor to
Nizhegorodsky region, staying in the office from 1991 to 1997. In the 1990s, he served as the first deputy
prime minister under former president, Boris Yeltsin.
He had co-chaired the pro-business Republican Party of Russia –
People's Freedom Party (RPR-PARNAS) since 2012.
In total, Nemtsov spent his last years with main criticisms to
Putin’s administration, which could be concluded as the following:
1. Failure to rotate the
Russian elite in the political structure and the accumulation of power in the
hands of Putin;
2. Combating corruption and accusing Putin's government of being
involved in corruption or protecting the corrupt members;
3. Protest against Putin’s government policies concerning Ukraine
and accusing Kremlin of being an arsonist.
In current investigations, a former Chechen police officer has
confessed to his involvement in the assassination of the high-profile Russian
opposition figure, Boris Nemtsov, in Moscow.
Zaur Dadayev, a former deputy commander for the Chechen police,
admitted to his role in Nemtsov’s murder after a Russian court indicted him and
Anzor Gubashev, who worked for a private security company in Moscow. Gubashev denied involvement.
"The participation of Dadayev is confirmed by his
confession," said presiding judge, Nataliya Mushnikova.
The two men, both with Chechen origin, were arrested in the
violence-plagued North Caucasus Republic of Ingushetia, which neighbors
Chechnya.
However, no information has emerged about the possible motive
behind the killing of the Russian opposition leader.
Russian investigators on Sunday said they have questioned five
suspects in an inquiry to determine the motive for Nemtsov’s killing.
The five suspects appeared in court on Sunday and were remanded in
custody.
‘Murder masterminded
abroad’
Following the detentions, one of Russia’s well-known news agencies
quoted an unnamed source as saying that the murder was most probably engineered
and masterminded in foreign countries.
“The trail of this crime may lead abroad. This theory is being actively
considered," the source said.
Meanwhile, Nikolay Kovalev, the former chief of the FSB, pointed
out that according to the police initial investigation, the two arrested
individuals were mercenaries paid to murder Nemtsov, adding, "The key is
to find out who ordered this assassination."
A fellow opposition politician, Ilya Yashin, welcomed the arrests
and urged the Russian authorities to divulge more information about the
suspects and their potential sponsors.
"We hope the arrest... is not an error but the result of good
work by security forces, but for now it is hard to say," Said Yashin,
adding, "Quite frankly the execution of the investigation had not inspired
any optimism, but the fact that there have been arrests inspires some
optimism."
Experts say it is not far from the Western countries to plot such
an assassination in order to tumble the situation in its rival country, Russia. Such a complot, in the Western mind, will
also bring down the reputation of Putin who is Russia’s beloved hero president,
after he brought the revival of Russia since the breakdown of the Soviet Union
and restored the stability of the country.
