Tens of thousands gather in Moscow to mourn Boris Nemtsov

Up to 70,000 people attend march to commemorate slain Kremlin critic. Source: AP

Up to 70,000 people attend march to commemorate slain Kremlin critic. Source: AP

Up to 70,000 people attended a mourning march commemorating slain politician and Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov. Many participants described his assassination on Feb. 27 as a personal tragedy; Russia’s opposition called it a point of no return. Pundits point out that without Nemtsov the opposition will find it even more difficult to unite.

Tens of thousands of Russians have marched in central Moscow to commemorate prominent opposition figure and former first deputy prime minister of Russia Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead in the shadow of the Kremlin by unknown assailants late at night on Feb. 28.

According to the Interior Ministry, the mourning march, held on Sunday, March 1, gathered some 16,500 participants, though organizers say it was attended by at least 70,000 people, and photographs of the march appear to support this claim.

The tragedy changed the opposition’s plans: They had originally planned a “Spring” anti-crisis march in Maryino (a Moscow suburb) but decided that this would be inappropriate in the light of Nemtsov’s killing, and agreed a new route with the city authorities.

‘Nemtsov’stragedyismytragedy’

Before the march started, there was a long line outside a flower shop near Smolenskaya Square, where people waited to buy flowers to take with them to the march. Although in the square itself there were numerous walk-through metal detectors and people’s bags were checked, there was hardly any visible police presence along the rest of the route of the march.

People walked along slowly in complete silence, carrying portraits of Nemtsov, Russian flags with black ribbons attached to them and placards that read: “Heroes do not die,” “He died for Russia’s future,” “They were afraid of you, Boris,” “Propaganda kills,” and “I am not afraid.”

“I am devastated by this death,” said pensioner Yevgeniya Ipatova. “Russia is losing its best sons. He could have been a great scientist [Nemtsov had over 60 scientific papers on physics published – RBTH]. Instead he decided to devote himself to the people, but the people did not understand him.”

“I want to live in a free country. I don’t like it when we are being shot, when we are being blown up. I want to be able to publicly say what I like and what I don’t like. That is why the tragedy of Boris Nemtsov is my tragedy too,” said Viktor Artamonov, who had worked with the murdered politician since 1992.

Death as consolidation?

As the silent march approached its end, there were a number of individual cries of “Russia without Putin!” from participants near the head of the column, where opposition activists headed by former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov were marching, though others warned that shouting would be seen as an act of provocation. The march ended with the column filing slowly onto Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge, where Nemtsov was gunned down.

The opposition’s view of the murder was presented by Ilya Yashin, a close friend and associate of Boris Nemtsov. He told journalists: “For Russian society and the opposition, it [Nemtsov’s death] is a watershed, a point of no return of sorts. <…> I very much want to believe that democrats will at last unite, that this death will bring together opposition leaders, some of whom are not even on speaking terms with each other.”

Infighting

However, political analysts polled by RBTH are rather skeptical about the opposition’s ability to unite. According to the deputy head of the Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Research close to the Kremlin, Alexander Pozhalov, it was Nemtsov who “straightened out internal conflicts in the disparate protest movement and developed the opposition strategy.”

It was Nemtsov who in late 2014 urged the opposition to unite in a coalition called “For European Choice,” recalled Pozhalov. “Clearly, the role that Alexei Navalny and his close allies play in the opposition movement will now increase, they will start pulling the blanket toward them, which may create new internal problems inside the opposition,” said the pundit.

Meanwhile, Konstantin Kalachev, head of the independent Political Expert Group, lamented that the opposition “can consolidate only around such sad events as this.” “It is a serious problem: around who and what to consolidate.” In his opinion, from the organizational point of view and from the point of view of moral leadership, the opposition is rather weak.

“In this case one should not expect that the baby will be born a month after conception. A new opposition may emerge in Russia but only when the country is hit by a really serious economic crisis. It will be an opposition that will start building its program primarily on the socio-economic agenda,” said Kalachev.

Theories

The two main theories for who may have killed Nemtsov prevalent among marchers at the rally pin the blame for the murder on the authorities or on a third force that seeks to create a rift inside the country. Those who believe the former are in a clear majority. But one thing on which everybody agrees is that it was a contract killing.

“Boris Nemtsov was an uncomfortable figure for the authorities. After all, he was rocking the boat in the sense that he spurred people into action. He was uncovering corruption schemes, he was working on a report exposing the Russian leadership’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. It was certainly not done by some marginalized individuals,” said businesswoman Lyudmila Kokh.

“Somebody in our security structures is very unhappy that Putin has decided to put a brake somewhat on the Ukrainian issue. This murder was committed in order to prevent a further settlement,” said 56-year-old Vitaly Gorsky.

“I am sure this is a big problem for Putin. Such an audacious murder, right by the Kremlin walls. It shows that somebody is going to great lengths to manipulate things,” said mourner Viktor Artamonov.

 

Read more:

Witness in Nemtsov murder case says she didn't see assassin>>>

Anna Duritskaya, a citizen of Ukraine, who accompanied politician Boris Nemtsov at the moment he was killed in the early hours of February 28, says she did not see the assassin because came from behind.

Navalny lawyers ask court to allow him to attend Nemtsov funeral>>>

The defense lawyers for opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who is currently under administrative arrest, have asked the court to release him to so he can attend Boris Nemtsov's funeral.

Gorbachev: Nemtsov murder a scheme to provoke political trouble in Russia>>>

Former Soviet president has expressed confidence that Friday night's assassination in the center of Moscow of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov is a scheme to "provoke aggravation, and maybe even destabilization, of the situation in the country, increase the confrontation".

All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more.

Accept cookies