Thousands of Russians are marching through Moscow 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 February 27, 2015, death, in what appeared to be a contract killing, sparked an outpouring of anger and fear from Russia’s beleaguered opposition movement.
People march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, portrait in center, in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, February 26, 2017. (AP/Ivan Sekretarev)
The protest in Moscow is 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,” says opposition activist Ilya Yashin, who was Nemtsov’s friend and colleague, Interfax news agency reported.
Participants carry 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 carry cardboard Russian flags with bullet holes in them.
— AP
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