Russia’s former Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov was shot to death in a drive-by shooting near the Kremlin on Friday night, just hours before he was scheduled to lead an opposition protest.
The 55-year-old was walking along the Bolshoy Moshvoretsky Bridge, located within close proximity of the Kremlin, when a car pulled alongside him and opened fire, striking the Russian opposition leader in the back.
Russia’a Investigative Committee indicated that between four and eight shots were fired, RBTH reported.
The protest, which organizers had hoped would attract as many as 100,000 people, was cancelled in light of the slaying. Instead, a memorial rally will be held this Saturday at noon in both St. Petersburg and Kiev at 3:00 p.m., according to Mikhail Kasyanov. Kasyanov is also a former Russian prime minister.
The White House tweeted a statement by United States President Barack Obama which condemned what he called Nemtsov’s “brutal murder” while calling upon the Russian government to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his murder in order to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
Statement by the President on the Murder of Boris Nemtsov: pic.twitter.com/NqPmRcRhIO
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 28, 2015
Boris, a physicist by education, began his political career at the age of 32 when he became the regional governor of Nizhny Novgorod. He served at the post for six years before he was promoted to first deputy prime minister in 1997, a position which he held until 1998.
ABC News (Australia) reported that Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko had called Nemtsov a “bridge between Ukraine and Russia” on Facebook.
Mr. Nemtsov was one of the most prominent opponents of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Who do you think is behind the shooting death of Boris Nemtsov?
