Russian assassination: Nemtsov admitted fears for life weeks before murder

Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, gunned down on Friday in a contract-style killing, gave an interview this month admitting he had feared for his life over his opposition to President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with weekly Sobesednik, Nemtsov was asked: “Have you started worrying that Putin could personally kill you in the near future or do it through middle men?” He replied: “You know… yes. A little.” The Kremlin critic who courted public anger by opposing Russia’s actions in Ukraine said he often discussed politics with his 86-year-old mother, Dina, who agreed with his views but feared he could suffer deadly consequences.

But all the same I’m not that scared of him. If I was that afraid, I would hardly have headed an opposition party and would hardly be doing what I’m doing now.

Nemstov said in the interview published in early February

On Saturday, Putin vowed to punish the killers of Nemtsov as Russian opposition figures denounced what they called a “political murder” and Western leaders called for a full probe. Investigators in charge of the probe into Nemtsov’s killing cited threats to him over his condemnation of the murders at Charlie-Hebdo weekly as a possible motive. Nemstov’s killing follows the slaying over the past decade of several other high-profile critics of Putin and his policies.

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