Image Credit: Getty Images/ Aksakov, Aleksander
We have seen the news of lasts weeks murder of a political oppose of Putin’s Government, who was particularly proactive and open protester of the war in Ukraine. But who exactly was Boris Nemtsov? And what are the implications around Nemtsov assassination and what would be the possible consequences?
Who was Boris Nemtsov?
Boris Efimovich Nemtsov was a Russian statesman, scientist and politician, and also one of the open opponents to the Government of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nemtsov was born in 1959, in Sochi and finished his academic studies defending his PhD in Physics and Mathematics at age 25.
Sum up of his political career.
He started his political career running for the Soviet Congress of the People’s Deputies, in 1989. His ideas and political standpoints were considered to be radical for Soviet parameters, promoting freedom of speech, private enterprise, and multiparty democracy; he did not achieve to be elected, but ran again when the new government was being established, representing Gorky (renamed in 1990 to Nizhny Novgorod). When he was appointed to parliament he met former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who in 1991 appointed him as presidential for Nizhny Novgorod, and later he became the first governor of Nizhny Novgorod, duly appointed by Yeltsin. He was reelected for that same position in 1995. In March 1997 he was appointed as deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation. He was later introduced by Yeltsin to Bill Clinton as his successor.
In 1997 he was very favored by the general public, and was a firm candidate to be the next prime minister in 2000. But the economic crisis of 1998 and the crash of the Russian Stock Market made him resign his position as deputy prime minister. In 1999 Nemtsov became one of the cofounders of the Union of Rightist Forces, a liberal Russian political party, and was later elected leader of it later in 2000. The party achieved about 8.6% of the totals votes for parliament that same year. He resigned his position as party leader in 2004 after bad results in the elections of 2003.
In 2004 Nemtsov co-founded the “Committee 2008” which was and umbrella group which opposed Putin. Later he was also appointed by Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko as economy advisor, and put in charge to improve relations with Russia, but by then he already had open critique against Putin, having even published a paper called “Appeal to the Putinist Majority”, where he warned of possible civil and citizen rights back-rolling in the then present and the future if they kept supporting Putin. He also warned possible turmoil in Russia if Putin stayed in power.
In 2007 Nemtsov announced he would not run for president any longer (he had been announced as presidential candidate some months before that) in the 2008 elections, his main argument being that he did not want to draw votes from the other opposition candidate, Mikhail Kasyanov. Later in March of 2009 he announced he would be running for mayor of Sochi, his native city. He also openly opposed the plans of the government to host the winter Olympic Games in Sochi. According to his own testimonial he was attacked by Pro-3 pro-Kremlin activists later that same month, with ammonium chloride, but this was never proved. He lost the Sochi elections, achieving only 14% at the polls.
In March 2010 he was one of the 32 original signatories of an online published document “Putin must go”, an anti-Putin manifesto. This manifesto was converted to a movement, which lasted until 2010, and was supported by some of the members of the opposition of Putin’s Government.
Around 2010 and 2011 he attempted to found a new party, but he was denied due some missing bureaucracy of that intention. In 2010 Vladimir Putin made some declarations where he included the name Nemtsov, and accused him of past corruption, and seeking to return to “fill his pockets”. Nemtsov, along with some other accused opposition leaders, filed a suit against Putin, but it was dismissed by a judge with the argument that Putin had referred to politicians “like” Nemtsov, and not Boris Nemtsov himself.
During his career Nemtsov was arrested 3 times, all of them related to participating and openly supporting dissident manifestations and protests. When he was given 15 days of jail, he filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights, which accepted the complaint.
Before the night of his assassination, Nemtsov was scheduled to participate and lead a dissident march on March 1, 2015. The march was held to protest the war in Ukraine and Putin’s decision making towards the subject, annexation of Crimea, and other related matters.
The sad event.
On the night of February the 27th, around 23:40 PM Moscow time, Boris Nemtsov was fatally shot by an unkown person, in Central Moscow, about 200 meters away from the Kremlin and the red square, on the “Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge”. He died immediately from his wounds.
Actions and Activism.
Today almost a week has passed sin February the 27, almost midnight. His friends and colleagues, and even some people who opposed him politically, remember him as a articulate and emotional person. He was stubborn, but always willing to learn, and also had an eccentrically personality. He was indeed a great and inspired leader for those in Russia who are not entirely feeling well after Putin’s leadership.
As Nemtsov had shown Ukraine support during their Orange Revolution, he also did openly oppose that Russia confronted a friendly country, and a former ally. One could truly say that in this line of thinking, perhaps Nemtsov was one of the most important figures of the local discomfort, which may not have been significant at some point, but may yet increase after his dead.
Had it not been the crisis of 1998, for which he took part of the responsibility and afterwards resigned for, Boris Nemtsov may have been the Russian president for 2000; some say that he may have been waiting for another opportunity to seize the Kremlin in a democratic manner, as that the subject involved a lot of frustration for him.
Any clues to the assassins?
The Russian police from the very start pointed out a number of reasons Nemtsov could have been assassinate for, including Islamic extremism, or a personal vendetta. The Russian government declared that he was murdered to imply blame to the Kremlin and that the crime intended to deteriorate the government’s image, and to try and start turmoil in the Russian capital.
Without asserting the exact motives of assassination it will be highly improbable that this case ever be solved. Some theories include that even the CIA may have been involved, but that wouldn’t really show up for Russia’s intelligence unit. So there are still much theories, some of them include pro-Kremlin activists, others think that such act of violence definitely could only come from extremists.
The event of the assassination was filmed by a camera located far away from the crime scene; in the footage one can see the probable shooter escaping in a previously waiting white or silver car. Strangely enough it has been confirmed that at the precise time of the murder, the cameras were down for “maintenance”. This has made many theorize that pro-Putin figures may have been involved in Nemtsov’s murder, but there are no clues revealed pointing at such theory.
Other deaths of dissidents with Vladimir Putin.
Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya was shot in her apartment in 2006. She criticized Putin over the war in Chechnya.
Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, former Russian spy, was poisoned in London, his provisional resicence, and died 21 days after the poisoning. The poison used was done with a potent radioactive material.
Chechen journalist and civil rights activist Natalia Estemirova was allegedly abducted and executed by two Islamic men, but evidence failed to proof that the two man actually committed such crime.
Alexei Devotchenko was a Russian actor with high popularity. One of his eccentricities was having declined accepting two rewards from the hands of Putin. Investigators concluded, after finding him dead in his apartment in 2014, that he had died of a cut in his hand which bled out due to his alcoholic condition, after falling and hitting his head.
Stanislav Markelov is a lawyer which defended dissidents of the Chechnya war. He was also a Human Rights specialist and activist. He was shot outside the Kremlin in 2009.
Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer and auditor, which uncovered a important case of corruption at high levels of the government. He died when he was still on trial for alleged terrorism, beaten to death in a mutiny by the prison police, although the government says that he died of an heart attack.
These are some of the people who opposed Putin, but ended up dying in unusual circumstances.
Russia after Nemtsov's Murder.
The death of Nemtsov comes in a time when Russian dissidents of the Government of Vladimir Putin are growing in number. The manifestation of March 1st was very symbolic and reportedly tens of thousands participated on the set date, which was previously supported by Nemtsov. His last tweet was a call to participate in the manifestation.
Citizens’ Rights Watch hopes, particularly for Boris Nemtsov's family and close friends, that the Russian police force is able to shed light on such violent aggression. The world has lost a great person which promoted the right of free expression, and fought for what he believed to be the best for his people. CRW also hopes that these murders in Russia are dealt with according to what law dictates.
May he rest in peace.
Bibliography:
Pravda.ru - “Who killed Boris Nemtsov?” – (2015)
http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/28-02-2015/129934-boris_nemtsov_murdered-0/
Euronews.com - “Tens of Thousands march in Moscow in Memory of Boris Nemtsov” – (2015)
http://www.euronews.com/2015/03/01/tens-of-thousands-march-in-moscow-in-memory-of-boris-nemtsov/
Aljazeera.com - “Boris Nemtsov’s Last Walk” – (2015)
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/03/boris-nemtsov-walk-150301055108515.html
CNN.com - “The Complicated Life -and tragic death- of Boris Nemtsov” – (2015)
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/02/opinion/treisman-nemtsov-complicated-story/
The Guardian - “Why we will never know who killed Boris Nemtsov” – (2015)
iBiography.info - “Boris Nemtsov” – (2013)
http://www.ibiography.info/facts/boris-nemtsov.html
The Telegraph - “Boris Nemtsov murder: security cameras 'turned off for maintenance'” – (2015)
Miguel Antonio Rodriguez Glaudemans
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