The investigation into Nemtsov's murder is to be headed by General Aleksandr Drymanov, the head of the Moscow Investigative Committee. Drymanov is the man who led the investigation into charges against Nadia Savchenko, the Ukrainian pilot incarcerated in Moscow who has been on hunger strike since December to protest her treatment.
Drymanov also oversaw the second Yukos criminal case that saw Mikhail Khodorkovsky jailed for a second time, a case many saw as politically motivated.
In a retort to the avalanche of accusations being directed at the West, the Grani.Ru news portal (which is blocked in Russia) asks ironically on Twitter: "Has the 'fifth column' and USA already reaped the benefits of the murders of Politkovskaya, Estemirova, Starovoitova, Litvinenko, Listyev, Shchekochikin?"
More Western conspiracy claims.
Russian Communist Party lawmaker Valery Rashkin accuses the West of being behind the murder. "This is an act of war against the Russian elite, it is a demonstration with the message: 'We won't stop at anything.' This murder was organized by a transnational financial elite gang based in the United States and political embodied by the so-called 'inter-party group of Hillary Clinton.' The executors, most likely, were trained by the Ukrainian gestapo, the SBU [Ukrainian Security Services]."
Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov blaming "Western intelligence services" and Ukrainian security services for Nemtsov's death:
"Only forces interested in increasing tensions could take such a bloody step. The organizers of this murder hoped that the whole world would accuse the leadership of the country of the death of Nemtsov and trigger a wave of protests. There is no doubt that the murder of Nemtsov was organized by the West's security services, which strive any way they can to provoke internal conflict in Russia."
Kadyrov says Russian authorities want to find Nemtsov's murderer and bring to justice those responsible:
"To this end, as evidenced by the message that all efforts [will be taken to punish the perpetrators]. First of all, Boris Nemtsov is a Russian citizen, and an attempt on the life of a Russian citizen should be severely punished. I extend my condolences to his mother, relatives, and friends of Boris Nemtsov."
Interesting that, again, echoing the Kremlin message, Nemtsov's mother is mentioned. He had children, too, but they keep mentioning his mother (who reportedly feared Putin's administration would kill her son).
Anatoly Chubais, a liberal politician and businessmen associated with President Boris Yeltsin’s reformers, spoke to RFE/RL and TV crews at the crime scene:
“Today in the country a demand for malice has been created. A demand for hatred has been created. A demand for aggression has been created. Several days ago, people were marching with banners saying they’re going to destroy the fifth column. Today Nemtsov is killed. Let’s just pause for a moment and think what’s going to happen tomorrow. We all need to stop. I emphasize: all of us. The authorities, the opposition, the liberals, the communists, the nationalists, the conservatives -- everyone needs to stop and just think for a moment.”
From our Russian Service:
Andrei Balin, the co-chairman of the local branch of the Republican Party of Russia–People's Freedom Party in the central Russian city of Talyatti, was beaten and robbed shortly before the same party's leader, Boris Nemtsov, was gunned down in Moscow.
Balin was attacked as he was returning home on the evening of February 27.
The unknown assailants assaulted Balin near the entrance to his building and stole his laptop computer.
Balin regularly posted material on his Facebook page that was critical of the policies of the Russian government, in particular President Vladimir Putin.
Police said they believed the assailants' aim was to steal Balin's computer, which had information on Balin's contacts and activities.
There was no indication of whether authorities were treating the crimes as related.
Opposition Yabloko party leaders Grigory Yavlinsky and Sergei Mitrokhin speaking to reporters at the makeshift memorial on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge where Nemtsov was shot dead, via Reuters:
Yavlinsky: "[Boris Nemtsov] was a good, open, bright man who dedicated all his life to the task of creating a normal country in Russia. He wanted this very much."
Mitrokhin: "I would say that this is not only a blow to the opposition, it is a blow to the whole Russian society, it is a blow to Russia. If political views are punished this way, then this country simply has no future."
Pro-Kremlin television station NTV has removed from its listings an anti-opposition pseudo-documentary called Anatomy of a Protest 3, which was due to be aired on the evening of March 1 in the wake of the opposition rally. The first two versions of the show smeared a raft of opposition leaders.