Russian Opposition Leader Nemtsov Shot Dead
Local Editor
Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, was gunned down while walking in sight of the Kremlin late Friday, prompting an international chorus of condemnation.
The murder of the 55-year-old politician, an outspoken critic of Russia's involvement in Ukraine, came ahead of a major opposition rally he was set to lead this weekend and sent shock waves across the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had condemned the assassination and expressed his condolences to the family, Peskov declared.
"Putin has stressed that this brutal murder has all [the] signs of a contract murder and is extremely provocative," he said.
Irina Khakamada, an opposition figure who was Nemtsov's ally in the SPS party [Union of Right Forces], called the murder a "provocation" aimed at destabilizing Russia.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian leader had taken the investigation "under personal control".
Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov declared that Russian Opposition politician and former deputy prime Boris Nemtsov who was shot dead meters from the Kremlin in Central Moscow did not pose a threat to the Russian government.
The murder of the Russian opposition figure had been called a "provocation" by a number of politicians and public figures.
Boris Nemtsov was a veteran of Russian politics; He was an influential figure in the 1990s and held the post of deputy prime minister under former President Boris Yeltsin.
Though he had been more involved in business than politics since 2003, he was a critic of the Russian government.
"With all due respect to the memory of Boris Nemtsov, in political terms he did not pose any threat to the current Russian leadership or Vladimir Putin." Peskov stated.
He added, "If we compare popularity levels, Putin's and the government's ratings and so on, in general Boris Nemtsov was just a little bit more than an average citizen".
"It is definitely not beneficial to Putin and it is aimed at destabilizing everything to tatters," she said.
Human Rights Watch representative Tanya Cooper called for a "thorough" and "unbiased" investigation into Nemtsov's murder, adding that police must consider all angles, including the victim's political career.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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