U.S., European Diplomats In Moscow Mark Anniversary Of Nemtsov's Killing
Politician Grigory Yavlinsky lays flowers at the site where Boris Nemtsov was killed on the fourth anniversary of his death on February 27.
Foreign diplomats have placed flowers on the Moscow bridge where opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was fatally shot four years ago.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman and the ambassadors of several European countries were among the diplomats marking the anniversary of Nemtsov’s killing on February 27.
The United States on February 26 reiterated its call on President Vladimir Putin's government to "identify publicly those who organized and ordered the crime, and hold them accountable."
Boris Nemtsov: A Life And Death In Pictures
1/22Boris Nemtsov studied physics at Lobachevsky State University in Gorky, the city now known as Nizhny Novgorod, receiving a degree in 1981.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
2/22Nemtsov holds a meeting with local voters as governor of Nizhny Novgorod in 1992.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
3/22Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin and Nemtsov at a tennis event in Nizhny Novgorod in 1994.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
4/22Nemtsov prepares for a flight in a MiG-29 fighter jet produced in Nizhny Novgorod in 1996.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
5/22Nemtsov with his daughter Zhanna in 1996.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
6/22Nemtsov speaks during his first 100 days in office as deputy prime minister in 1997.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
7/22Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov with Nemtsov at a roundtable discussion in Moscow in 1997.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
8/22Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Nemtsov visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin wall.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
9/22Nemtsov, as deputy prime minister, vists the Oktyabrskaya-Yuzhnaya coal mine in 1998.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
10/22Nemtsov became leader of the Union of Right Forces party. Here he is seen with an effigy of himself from the political satire show, Puppets, in 1999.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
11/22Nemtsov, then a member of the Russian legislature, the State Duma, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in 2000.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
12/22Nemtsov talks to Yulia Tymoshenko at the inauguration of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in 2005. She is also standing next to businessman Petro Poroshenko, who became president of Ukraine.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
13/22Nemtsov confronts police during an opposition march in Moscow in 2010.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
14/22Police detain Nemtsov as he speaks at an opposition march in Moscow in 2011.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
15/22Police encricle Nemtsov as he speaks at an anti-Putin rally in Moscow in 2011 -- the second mass protest in the Russian capital in as many days -- demanding fresh elections after alleged electoral fraud.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
16/22Nemtsov attends an opposition rally for fair parliamentary elections after alleged electoral fraud in 2011.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
17/22Nemtsov and opposition politician, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, invalidate their ballots for 2011 parliamentary elections, writing: "Bring back honest elections, bastards!"
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
18/22Nemtsov holds a one-man protest demanding that authorities investigate the beating of journalist and commentator Oleg Kashin in 2011.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
19/22Nemtsov is seen in his apartment in Yaroslavl in 2013.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
20/22Nemtsov attends a 2014 rally in Yaroslavl against the abolition of direct elections for the office of mayor.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
21/22Nemtsov hands out leaflets inviting people to come to an opposition rally in Moscow in February 2015.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
22/22Late on the night of February 27, 2015, Nemtsov was shot dead on a bridge near the Kremlin.
Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on the night of February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. He was 55 years old. A liberal politician who became one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia.
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A liberal politician who was a deputy prime minister during Boris Yeltsin's presidency and became one of Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin in Moscow on February 27, 2015. He was 55 years old.
In July 2017, a Moscow court found five men from Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya guilty of Nemtsov's murder and sentenced them to long prison terms.
Relatives and associates believe his killing was ordered at a higher level and say justice will not be served until the person or people behind it are identified and prosecuted. The U.S. statement echoed that idea.
Government critics have voiced suspicion that the culprits will never face justice because an honest investigation could lead to figures who are close to Moscow-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov or to Putin's inner circle.
Thousands of Russians marched in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities on February 24 to honor Nemtsov, with many criticizing Putin's government and calling for a reversal of what Kremlin critics say has been a clampdown on civil society and dissent since he came to power nearly 20 years ago.
On February 27, at 23:31 p.m. Moscow time, dozens of people gathered at the site of the murder and observed a minute's silence in Nemtsov's memory.
In a statement, the U.S. State Department said that Nemtsov "remains an inspiration to all those in Russia and around the world who strive for justice, democracy, and a government accountable to the people."
The State Department said the United States honors Nemtsov's memory "by renewing our call for the government of Russia to allow journalists, civil society activists, and political opposition members to exercise their universal human rights of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly without fear of violence or other forms of reprisal."
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