MOSCOW -- Thousands have marched in Moscow to commemorate slain Kremlin critic and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov who was killed two years ago.

Nemtsov, who had been a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead on a bridge overlooking the Kremlin on February 27, 2015.

Five men from Russia's volatile North Caucasus region of Chechnya went on trial for the killing in October. They have denied the charges. Nemtsov's supporters fear that whoever ordered his murder will never be brought to justice.

Thousands of people gathered at Pushkin Square in central Moscow on February 26 before marching to Prospekt Sakharov. The march, authorized by municipal authorities, ended at around 4 p.m. local time without any major incidents. Two previous marches to honor Nemtsov were also held without any incidents.

Similar marches to commemorate Nemtsov were organized in cities across Russia, including in St. Petersburg and Nemtsov's hometown of Nizhny Novgorod.

WATCH: Commemorations Of Slain Kremlin Critic Nemtsov Held In Russian Cities (RFE/RL's Russian Service and Current Time TV)

Protesters in Moscow filed through metal detectors manned by dozens of police, who were stationed along the march route.

Demonstrators held the Russian national flag and other flags bearing the logo of opposition party PARNAS and the Solidarity movement.

Scores of demonstrators held portraits of Nemtsov bearing slogans like "The war with Ukraine is Putin's crime" and "Strength lies in truth and the truth is with us" and "Our advantage over the authorities is our honesty."

"The situation in Russia has got to a point where we have to change something, including changing the authorities," said Yuri Kalina, a teacher who attended the march. "One person has ruled for the last 15 years. This is not normal and it is not democratic."

"Everything starts [on] the street," added the 25-year-old. "When we don't have the opportunity to speak on television and when there is no one with alternative views on radio, we have to start [on] the street."

Yuri Konstantinov, 63, a pensioner from Moscow, said he attended the march out of a sense of civic duty, but was skeptical about whether it would have a positive impact for the opposition.

"I don't see any particular reason for hope," he said. "But a person has a duty to stand up for his beliefs. I believe a person has a duty. I don't know what will come of it though. The whole world seems to be going in the wrong direction."

Ibragim Osmanov, 59, said he traveled to Moscow from Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula to attend the march.

He stood in a small group of 10 holding Crimean Tatar flags. The group held a meters-long banner reading: "Stop the repressions in Crimea. Freedom to Ukrainian political prisoners."

"He [Nemtsov] always supported the Crimean Tatar people," said Osmanov. "We've come here to pay our tribute to his memory."

Demonstrators chanted "freedom to political prisoners!" "Russia without Putin" and "Putin is war!"

Activists at the rally collected signatures to petition Moscow city hall to establish a memorial plaque in tribute to Nemtsov.

Supporters also hope to petition city authorities to launch a probe into what they cast as the "illegal" clearing away of the makeshift unofficial memorial at the site of Nemtsov's murder.

"This is a serious date. The date of a murder," said Galina, a 66-year old pensioner from Moscow who declined to give her surname. "This was the political murder of a leader. We all remember. It is a pity there are few people like him."</s>Protesters chant anti-Putin and anti-Kadyrov slogans at Moscow procession said to have been attended by 15,200 people

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Thousands of protesters marched in Moscow and other Russian cities on Sunday to mark two years since the opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down near the Kremlin.

Five men including a security services officer who reported to the leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya are on trial for murdering the outspoken Putin critic but many fear whoever ordered the killing will not be brought to justice.

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Police said 5,000 people had participated in the demonstration in the capital, but a group counting each person who passed the metal detectors at the beginning of the column said 15,200 had marched. Among them were prominent opposition leaders such as former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who was assaulted before the march began.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Participants in the Moscow march. Photograph: Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

“There are two components [of this march], the first is the commemoration of our comrade and my friend Boris Nemtsov, who was cruelly killed outside the Kremlin, and the second is the principles that we defined with Boris and our struggle so that Russia would be a real democratic state,” Kasyanov told the Guardian at the head of the column.

Moments later, an unidentified man threw green ink in Kasyanov’s face, a popular tactic to demean liberal opposition activists. Police quickly detained the assailant and led him away.

Kasyanov had a cake thrown in his face and was pelted with eggs last year after the Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, posted a video showing the former PM in the crosshairs of a gun.

Police detained an opposition organiser after a verbal row between him and members of the pro-Kremlin National Freedom Movement, reported OVD Info, which monitors detention of activists. Law enforcement officers also confiscated some posters that referred to Putin by name, marchers said.

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“This is a commemorative march, but it’s not a funeral march,” said Nemtsov’s fellow activist Ilya Yashin. “We didn’t gather here to cry, we gathered here to make demands, we gathered to demand Nemtsov’s murderers be brought to justice, the trigger men, the organisers and those who ordered the hit.”

Other cities also held Nemtsov marches, with a reported 2,000 people marching in St Petersburg.

The events coincided with the release from prison of the opposition activist Ildar Dadin after more than a year, during which time he made serious allegations of torture. He was the first and so far only person convicted under a harsh recent law that criminalises repeated unsanctioned protests.

He was released after several days of delays that former Kremlin insider Gleb Pavlovsky said had intended to prevent him from attending Sunday’s march in Moscow, where people held Russian flags, placards with Nemtsov’s face and quotes from the former deputy PM such as: “Bring back elections, you creeps!”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The march in St Petersburg. Photograph: Anatoly Maltsev/EPA

Some carried roses to lay at the spot where Nemtsov was shot, on a bridge next to the Kremlin. A small group of nationalists with black, yellow and white Russian imperial flags also joined in the march.

The front rows of the column chanted: “Our name is Boris Nemtsov!” while carrying a huge banner that read “Heroes don’t die! Russia will be free!” Other chants included “Putin is a thief,” “Putin is war,” and “Kadyrov to prison.”



“The organisers and those who ordered [Nemtsov’s killing] are, I’m deeply convinced, the political leadership and rulers of Chechnya,” said former MP Gennady Gudkov. “Today the federal authorities are covering for them. They are not bringing anyone to responsibility and slowing the investigation.”

Another colleague of Nemtsov, activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, left Russia for further treatment last week after surviving a poisoning attempt. In a Facebook post, he called on people to come to the march on Sunday.



On Monday activists who tend to the makeshift memorial to Nemtsov at the spot where he was shot said municipal workers had taken away all the flowers and pictures in the early hours. By late Monday morning, Nemtsov supporters flocked back to the bridge to bring more flowers.</s>Thousands of Russians are marching in the streets of Moscow to mark two years since opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down outside the Kremlin. http://www.independent.ie/world-news/march-marks-two-years-since-opposition-leader-boris-nemtsov-shot-dead-in-moscow-35483372.html People march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was killed two years ago in Moscow, Russia Thousands of Russians are marching in the streets of Moscow to mark two years since opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down outside the Kremlin.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Independent.ie.</s>Thousands of Russians marched through Moscow on Sunday shouting slogans such as "Russia will be free!" and "Putin is war!" to mark two years since opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down outside the Kremlin.

Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister, was a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin. His Feb. 27, 2015, death, in what appeared to be a contract killing, sparked an outpouring of anger and fear in Russia's beleaguered opposition movement.

The memorial protest was the largest opposition gathering since a similar march for Nemtsov in 2016. Organizers put the number of participants at just over 15,000. The police, known for underestimating attendance at political rallies, said about 5,000 people showed up.

"It's very important that after two years people continue to come out and show their solidarity with the ideas for which Boris Nemtsov fought for and gave his life," opposition activist Ilya Yashin, who was Nemtsov's friend and colleague, told the Interfax news agency.</s>Thousands of Russians have marched through Moscow to mark two years since opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down outside the Kremlin.

Mr Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister, was a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin.

His February 27 2015 death, in what appeared to be a contract killing, sparked an outpouring of anger and fear in Russia's beleaguered opposition movement.

The memorial protest was the largest opposition gathering since a similar march for Mr Nemtsov in 2016.

Organisers put the number of participants at just over 15,000.

The police, known for underestimating attendance at political rallies, said about 5,000 people showed up.

"It's very important that after two years people continue to come out and show their solidarity with the ideas for which Boris Nemtsov fought for and gave his life," opposition activist Ilya Yashin, who was Mr Nemtsov's friend and colleague, told the Interfax news agency.

Demonstrators carried Russian flags, banners of opposition political parties and placards with quotes from Mr Nemtsov, including "If there's Putin, there's no Russia", and "Our only chance left is the street."

Some carried cardboard Russian flags with bullet holes in them.

"For us, Nemtsov represents free-thinking Russia and the democratic values for which we strive: free elections and no corruption," participant Yekaterina Getgarts said.

Five men went on trial for Mr Nemtsov's murder in a Moscow military court last year, but no verdicts have been returned in the ongoing case.

Investigators allege that the man who shot Mr Nemtsov was Zaur Dadayev, a former officer in an elite Chechen police unit.

But Mr Nemtsov's family and friends say it was a political hit with a trail that leads to senior officials in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya who have not been charged or even questioned.

The Moscow rally largely passed without incident, but an unknown assailant threw green dye in the face of opposition leader Mikhail Kasyanov. Police made several arrests.

"This is the hysteria of the government. They do not know what to do. The government is afraid," opposition activist Gennady Gudkov, a former deputy in the lower house of parliament, said of the attack on Mr Kasyanov.

While large crowds are rare at opposition demonstrations in Mr Putin's Russia, the attendance at Sunday's rally was significantly lower than a year ago, when organisers estimated almost 25,000 people joined a Nemtsov memorial march.

Russia's opposition has been fragmented in recent years by pressure from the Kremlin, the flight abroad of leading activists and political infighting.

After the march, thousands of people laid flowers on the bridge where Mr Nemtsov was shot in the back several times while walking home with his girlfriend.

Similar demonstrations took place on Sunday in other Russian cities, including St Petersburg and Mr Nemtsov's hometown of Nizhny Novgorod.

Several thousand people participated in St Petersburg, but the turnout was low elsewhere.</s>Thousands of people have marched in Moscow to remember Russian opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead outside the Kremlin in 2015.

Nemtsov, a reformer, democrat and former deputy PM, was a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin.

Some marchers chanted “Russia will be free!” and “Putin is war!”

Five Chechen men are on trial for the killing. They deny the charges and Nemtsov’s relatives fear whoever ordered the murder will never be found.

Separately on Sunday, anti-Kremlin activist Ildar Dadin, the first person jailed under new laws targeting protests, was released from a Siberian prison. The Supreme Court had overturned his conviction on Wednesday.

He says he was tortured by staff while in prison, an accusation officials deny.

BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford says the marchers, numbering thousands rather than tens of thousands, moved slowly towards a square in the city.

She says the marchers had not been given permission to travel to the Moskvoretsky bridge where Nemtsov was shot dead, but many later queued there to lay flowers at the spot where he died.

One of the marchers, Galina Zolina, told Agence France-Presse: “We came to pay tribute to the honesty and bravery of Boris Nemtsov. We want to show the authorities that we haven’t forgotten.”

Organiser Ilya Yashin told Reuters: “We gathered here to demand the bringing of Boris Nemtsov’s killers to justice, not only its performers but also its organisers and those who ordered it.”

The rally appeared peaceful, although green ink was thrown into the face of Putin critic and former PM Mikhail Kasyanov as he marched on Sunday.

Rallies also took place in St Petersburg and other cities.

Nemtsov, who was 55, was shot in the back as he walked home from a restaurant with his Ukrainian girlfriend late at night near the Kremlin on 27 February 2015.

He had earlier been at the radio station Ekho Moskvy, calling on listeners to join a protest. He had accused Russia’s president of launching an illegal war with Ukraine, prompting Western sanctions and an economic crisis.

He had also been planning to publish a file on Russian involvement in eastern Ukraine.

Those who marched in Moscow on Sunday carried flags, posters and quotes from Nemtsov. Some read “The war with Ukraine was a crime of Putin”, “Russia without Putin” and “I am against the annexation of Crimea”.

Nemtsov’s political allies believe the killing was meant to terrify them into silence.

Mr Kara-Murza is recovering abroad after an illness that left him in a medically induced coma. His symptoms were similar to a near-fatal illness in 2015 that he believed was the result of deliberate poisoning.

The trial of the five Chechens for Nemtsov’s murder began in October.

The suspect who investigators say carried out the killing, Zaur Dadayev, was an officer under the command of pro-Moscow’s Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic in the volatile North Caucasus.

The Chechen leader has denied any link to the killing.

President Putin called the murder “vile and cynical” and vowed that those responsible would be held to account.

Russia has seen several killings of high-profile politicians and journalists.

But the country has a long history of prosecuting alleged hit-men and then failing to follow the chain of command upwards to discover who ordered the murder or why, our correspondent says. BBC News</s>MOSCOW (AP) - Thousands of Russians are marching in the streets of Moscow to mark two years since opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down outside the Kremlin.

Nemtsov was a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. His Feb. 27, 2015 death, in what appeared to be a contract killing, sparked an outpouring of anger and fear from Russia's beleaguered opposition movement.

The protest Sunday in Moscow is expected to be the largest opposition gathering since a similar memorial march last year.

People gather together prior a march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was killed two years ago, in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017. Several thousand people held a march in Moscow in memory of the Russian opposition leader to mark the second anniversary of his killing. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Participants carried Russian flags and placards with quotes from Nemtsov including "Russia will be free," ''If there's Putin, there's no Russia," and "Our only chance left is the street."

Similar demonstrations to honor Nemtsov are to take place in cities across Russia, including St. Petersburg and Nemtsov's hometown of Nizhny Novgorod.</s>Thousands of people marched though Moscow on Sunday in memory of Boris Nemtsov, the Russian opposition leader, who was shot dead in a daring contract killing near the Kremlin two years ago.

Nemtsov, a charismatic, liberal politician, served as deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first president, but fell out with the authorities after Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000.

The start of the march in Moscow on Sunday was delayed after police shepherding participants through security gates, ordered activists to roll up banners saying “Putin is war”.

Then an unknown assailant threw green ink over the face of Mikhail Kasyanov, a former Russian prime minister, who now leads Nemtsov’s People’s Freedom Party, commonly known by its Russian acronym Parnas.

Undeterred, Mr Kasyanov remained at the head of the march which wound its way peacefully along Moscow’s boulevards in bright sunshine with participants chanting “Down with Putin” and “Russia will be free”.

As always at Russian opposition events, police were out in force, but security helicopters that usually roam the skies observing political demonstrations were oddly absent. “They can’t afford the fuel to fly them any more,” quipped one pensioner. “I wonder how the authorities are taking photographs of us.”

Some people carried cardboard replicas of the Russian flag shot through with five holes representing the bullets a gunman pumped into Nemtsov’s back as he walked home across a bridge that spans the Moscow river near the Kremlin on the night of February 27th 2015.

Five Chechen men accused of killing Nemstov went on trial at a Russian military court last October, but an investigation of who ordered the crime has been slow and inconclusive. All of the five defendants appear to have links to Ramzan Kadyrov, the macho leader of Chechnya, who has sworn loyalty to Putin and frequently threatened the Russian president’s opponents.

Nemtsov’s assassination dealt a terrible blow to Russia’s struggling opposition movement and to the prestige of the country’s political elite. At the time of his death Nemtsov was preparing to release a report that he said proved that Russian forces were secretly fighting alongside pro-Kremlin separatists in east Ukraine.

Moscow police estimated that 5,000 people joined the march in Moscow on Sunday, but independent observers put the number at over 15,000 — more than three times as high. Many participants moved on after the event to lay flowers at the bridge where volunteers have been guarding a makeshift memorial at the spot where Nemtsov was killed for the last two years.

Similar events to commemorate Nemtsov took place in other big Russian cities, including Saint Petersburg and Nizhny Novogorod, the slain politician’s hometown.

Separately on Sunday, Russian opposition activist Ildar Dadin, the first person jailed under tough new anti protest legislation, was released from a Siberian prison. Russia’s Supreme Court overturned Dadin’s conviction last Wednesday citing procedural violations in the case.

Dadin, who earlier claimed he had been tortured by prison staff, pledged on Sunday to continue to battle for human rights in Russia.</s>MOSCOW >> Thousands of Russians marched through Moscow on Sunday shouting slogans including “Russia will be free!” and “Putin is war!” to mark two years since opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down outside the Kremlin.

Nemtsov, a former Russian deputy prime minister, was a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. His Feb. 27, 2015 death, in what appeared to be a contract killing, sparked an outpouring of anger and fear from Russia’s beleaguered opposition movement.

The protest in Moscow was the largest opposition gathering since a similar memorial march for Nemtsov last year. Moscow police said 5,000 attended the event but organizers but the figure in the tens of thousands.

“It’s very important that after two years people continue to come out and show their solidarity with the ideas for which Boris Nemtsov fought for and gave his life,” said opposition activist Ilya Yashin, who was Nemtsov’s friend and colleague, Interfax news agency reported.

Participants carried Russian flags, banners of opposition political parties and placards with quotes from Nemtsov including “If there’s Putin, there’s no Russia,” and “Our only chance left is the street.” Many carried cardboard Russian flags with bullet holes in them.

The event largely occurred without incident, but police made several arrests and opposition leader Mikhail Kasyanov was attacked during in the march by an unknown assailant who threw green dye in his face.

“This is the hysteria of the government. They do not know what to do. The government is afraid,” Gennady Gudkov, a former deputy of Russia’s lower house of parliament and an opposition activist, said of the attack on Kasyanov.

After the march, thousands of people went to lay flowers on the site on the central Moscow bridge where Nemtsov was killed by an attacker who shot him several times in the back as he was walking home with his girlfriend.

Similar demonstrations to honor Nemtsov took place Sunday in other Russian cities, including St. Petersburg and Nemtsov’s hometown of Nizhny Novgorod.</s>Thousands of Russians have marched through Moscow shouting slogans such as 'Russia will be free!' to mark the second anniversary of the assassination of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov outside the Kremlin.

Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister, was a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin.

He was shot dead on February 27, 2015 in what appeared to be a contract killing, sparking an outpouring of anger and fear in Russia's beleaguered opposition movement.

Around 10,000 people marched through Moscow and there was a similar demonstration in St Petersburg.

Pensioner Galina Zolina, said: 'We came to pay tribute to the honesty and bravery of Boris Nemtsov. We want to show the authorities that we haven't forgotten.'

Five men are on trial for Nemtsov's murder in a Moscow military court. Investigators allege the man who shot Nemtsov was Zaur Dadayev, a former officer in an elite Chechen police unit.

'It's very important that after two years people continue to come out and show their solidarity with the ideas for which Boris Nemtsov fought for and gave his life,' opposition activist Ilya Yashin, told the Interfax news agency.

Demonstrators carried Russian flags, banners of opposition political parties and placards with quotes from Nemtsov, including 'If there's Putin, there's no Russia,' and 'Our only chance left is the street.' Some carried cardboard Russian flags with bullet holes in them.

'For us, Nemtsov represents free-thinking Russia and the democratic values for which we strive: free elections and no corruption,' participant Yekaterina Getgarts said.

Nemtsov's family and friends say it was a political hit with a trail that leads to senior officials in Chechnya, who have not been charged or even questioned.

The Moscow rally largely passed without incident, but an unknown assailant threw green dye in the face of opposition leader Mikhail Kasyanov. Police made several arrests.

'This is the hysteria of the government. They do not know what to do. The government is afraid,' opposition activist Gennady Gudkov, a former deputy in the lower house of parliament, said of the attack on Kasyanov.

While large crowds are rare at opposition demonstrations in Putin's Russia, the attendance at Sunday's rally was significantly lower than a year ago, when organizers estimated almost 25,000 people joined a Nemtsov memorial march.

Russia's opposition has been fragmented in recent years by pressure from the Kremlin, the flight abroad of leading activists and political infighting.

After the march, thousands of people laid flowers on the bridge where Nemtsov was shot in the back several times while walking home with his girlfriend.

Similar demonstrations took place Sunday in other Russian cities, including St. Petersburg and Nemtsov's hometown of Nizhny Novgorod. Several thousand people participated in St. Petersburg, but the turnout was low elsewhere.
Tens of thousands of people march through Moscow, Russia, to commemorate the two-year anniversary of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov's assassination.