Boris Nemtsov — Credit: Dhārmikatva (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 3.0
On the night of 27 February 2015, Boris Nemtsov, a prominent Russian opposition politician and critic of Vladimir Putin, was shot and killed while crossing the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge in central Moscow at approximately 23:31 local time. An unknown assailant fired seven or eight shots from a Makarov pistol; four bullets struck Nemtsov, killing him almost instantly. He died just hours after publicly calling for support of an anti-war march opposing Russia's actions in Ukraine. Nemtsov's partner, Anna Duritskaya, a Ukrainian citizen, was walking with him at the time and survived the attack as its only eyewitness.
The killing drew widespread international condemnation and heightened concern for the safety of Russian opposition figures. Russian authorities publicly condemned the murder and pledged a thorough investigation. President Vladimir Putin took what was described as "personal control" of the inquiry, directing the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Federal Security Service to form a joint investigative team, headed by Igor Krasnov.
On 8 March 2015, Russian authorities formally charged Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadaev, both from the North Caucasus region of Ingushetia, in connection with the killing. Dadaev reportedly confessed to involvement but later retracted his statement, saying it had been obtained under torture. Several additional suspects were arrested around the same time; Russian media reported that another suspect died when he detonated a grenade during a police raid in Grozny. Investigators identified a broader network, including Ruslan Geremeev, a Chechen battalion commander who was reportedly placed under protection in Chechnya and later left Russia, and Ruslan Mukhudinov, who was placed on an international wanted list. Neither has been charged.
In late June 2017, a jury in Moscow found five Chechen men guilty of having agreed to kill Nemtsov in exchange for payment. In July 2017, Zaur Dadaev was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the other convicted men receiving sentences ranging from 11 to 19 years. One of those sentenced was later reported to have received a pardon in exchange for participating in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The identity of whoever ordered and financed the killing has never been officially established.
The official investigation and trial faced substantial criticism. In 2019, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called on Russian authorities to reopen the investigation, describing it as "severely flawed" and "inconsistent with the available evidence on numerous fundamental points." Independent journalists and researchers, including a Bellingcat analysis noting that Nemtsov had been surveilled by the same FSB team later linked to surveillance of other Russian dissidents prior to their suspected poisonings, raised further questions about the case. Nemtsov was buried on 3 March 2015 in Moscow, and annual memorial marches have continued to be held in his honor.
Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on a Moscow bridge near the Kremlin on 27 February 2015, hours after urging support for an anti-war march. Five Chechen men were later convicted of carrying out the killing for payment, but the identity of whoever ordered it has never been established.
Where did the crime happen?
Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, Moscow, Russia.
Who was convicted?
Zaur Dadaev (Charged 8 March 2015; convicted and sentenced in July 2017 to 20 years imprisonment for the killing) and Anzor Gubashev (Charged 8 March 2015; among five men found guilty by a Moscow jury in June 2017).
