“Solved?”: Investigating Boris Nemtsov’s Murder

Please join The McCain Institute, the Atlantic Council, the National Endowment for Democracy and the Institute of Modern Russia for a panel discussion on the current status of the investigation into the assassination of Boris Nemtsov and the need for international oversight of the investigation.

Confirmed speakers:

Zhanna Nemtsova
Daughter of Boris Nemtsov
Founder and President, Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom

Vladimir Kara-Murza 
Longtime Colleague and Friend of Boris Nemtsov
Deputy Leader, People’s Freedom Party 

David Kramer 
Senior Director for Human Rights and Democracy
The McCain Institute 

John Herbst
Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center
Atlantic Council

Introduced and moderated by: 
Carl Gershman
President
National Endowment for Democracy

One year after the public assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, General Alexander Bastrykin, has announced that the case has been “solved.” However, the legitimacy of the investigation is questionable as the Investigative Committee has refused to qualify Nemtsov’s murder under Article 277 of the Criminal Code as “an attempt on the life of a public statesman.” Additionally, neither the organizers, nor the masterminds, of the most high-profile political assassination in Russia’s modern history have been named. As prosecutors prepare for a trial at the Moscow District Military Court, only the alleged perpetrators have been arrested, and despite the obvious links between the gunmen and Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed Chechen leader has not been formally questioned in this case.

Given the Russian authorities’ inability or unwillingness to pursue the investigation impartially and without political constraints, international oversight is crucial. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament launched projects aimed at bringing the investigation into the spotlight. In the United States, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently marked up Senate Resolution 378, which “urges the United States Government, in official contacts with representatives of the Russian Government, to emphasize the importance of bringing to justice all of the conspirators in the murder of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov.”

Please join us in person or by watching the event live online at mccaininstitute.org/live.

Join the conversation @McCainInstitute using #ACRussia.

McCain Institute for International Leadership

202-601-4330

events@mccaininstitute.com

https://www.mccaininstitute.org/