Opposition figure shot dead in Moscow, steps from Kremlin

Boris Nemtsov, a Russian opposition figure and outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead just steps from the Kremlin just after midnight Saturday local time. He was 55.

Nemtsov was hit "with four shots from a pistol," a spokesperson told TASS, adding that the murder is under investigation, which Russian President Vladimir Putin will personally oversee, according to his spokesperson.
The Russian newswire Interfax confirmed he was killed. Mezuda reported he was shot in the chest by an unknown assailant while walking on the Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge, which runs along the Kremlin's western wall.

Putin ordered Russia's law enforcement chiefs to oversee the probe — and personally noted that "this cruel murder has all the makings of a contract hit and is extremely provocative," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, in remarks carried by Russian news agencies.
A representative from Russia's Interior Ministry said that acquaintance was from Ukraine and that the assailant(s) were seen driving in a light-colored car.

Image: Evgeny Feldman, Mashable

Video later surfaced puporting to show the car, which is seen being followed by a black car and a police car in this video.

Only hours earlier, Nemtsov had given an interview to Ekho Mosvky radio station to talk up a march planned for Sunday to protest against the government's poor management of the crisis afflicting the country's economy, as well as its role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
President Obama strongly condemned the killing:

Nemtsov was once considered to be a potential successor to Russia’s first post-Soviet president, Boris Yeltsin. He became an opposition politician and one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critics in recent years.

ine Sobesednik earlier this month, Nemtsov said, "I'm scared that Putin will kill me." He acknowledged, however, that his mother feared Putin more than he did.
"If I really feared him, it's unlikely that I'd head an opposition party, it's unlikely I'd be involved in what I do," he said.

Image: Sergey Ponomarev/Associated Press

Photos from the scene

A Russian Instagram user posted a photo from the site of the murder that shows police looking over a man's body. Its caption: "Happened to be at the place where [...] just killed Nemtsov." The user then quickly pulled it down.

Image: @Instagram on Instagram

A Twitter user posted a different angle of the scene, showing the politician's body lying in the street as police take notes and collect evidence.
Police, medics, opposition members and reporters soon descended on the scene, which was quickly taped off by the authorities.
Mashable photographer Evgeny Feldman described the mood there as somber, saying the crowd that gathered around was "in shock." Nemtsov's body lay where he was shot for more than an hour before being removed, he said.
Feldman snapped these images at the scene.

Image: Evgeny Feldman, Mashable

Image: Evgeny Feldman, Mashable

Image: Evgeny Feldman, Mashable

The reaction from the opposition

Ilya Yashin, a Russian member of parliament, confirmed Nemtsov's death, writing tersely on Twitter, "Nemtsov shot. He's dead." He told a reporter at the scene he was sure it was an assassination.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a businessman and former oligarch now living in exile in Switzerland, also about Nemtsov's death. "We all loved him," said Khodorkovsky. "Reckless, but a very nice guy."

"I'm shocked, but I'm confident those bastards will pay a heavy price," co-chairman of the RPR Parnas Mikhail Kasyanov told TASS. "Now every member of the opposition needs protection of society."
Pussy Riot's Nadia Tolokonnikova said simply, "Once again, no."

Mark Feygin, a prominent Russian lawyer and part of the legal team that defended protest punk group Pussy Riot, wrote “He died like a real hero. The best memorial will be revenge."

Garry Kasparov, a chess champion and opposition figure like Nemtsov, tweeted he was "devastated to hear of the brutal murder of my long-time opposition colleague Boris Nemtsov."
"Shot 4 times," Kasparov added. "Once for each child he leaves."

"Boris's quality no longer fit Putin's Russia. He always believed Russia could change from inside without violence; after 2012 I disagreed," he added. "When we argued, Boris would tell me I was too hasty, that in Russia you had to live a long time to see change."
"Now he'll never see it. RIP."

Evgeny Feldman contributed reporting from Moscow.
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