Thousands of mourners and dignitaries filed past the white—lined coffin of slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov on Tuesday, paying last respects to one of the most prominent figures of Russia’s beleaguered opposition.
He was shot to death late on Friday while walking on a bridge near the Kremlin with a companion. No suspects have been arrested.
The killing has deeply shaken Russia’s small and marginalized opposition movement. Many opposition supporters suspect the killing was ordered by the Kremlin in retaliation for his ardent criticism of President Vladimir Putin, while authorities have suggested several possible motives including a provocation aimed at tarnishing Putin’s image.
“He was our ray of light. With his help I think Russia would have risen up and become a strong country. It is the dream of all progressive people in Russia,” said one of the mourners, 80—year—old Valentina Gorbatova.
Mr. Nemtsov, 55, had been a deputy prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin and was widely seen as a rising young reformer. However, in the Putin era Nemtsov’s party lost its seats in parliament.
Although his influence in mainstream politics vanished, he remained visible as one of Putin’s most vehement critics. Just a few hours before his death, he conducted a radio interview in which he denounced Putin for “mad, aggressive” policies in the Ukraine crisis.
Nemtsov’s body lay in a coffin in the Sakharov Center in central Moscow, named after the late Soviet—era dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov. The funeral and burial was held in the afternoon.
