Remembering Boris Nemtsov and His Dream of a Free Russia

“Nemtsov’s death poignantly illustrates the connection between international aggression and domestic repression. As one of the premier dissident voices in Russia, he also led the small but vocal domestic opposition to Russia’s ongoing campaign against Ukraine. Yet just as Putin has encountered little effective international opposition to his invasion of Ukraine, he also faces few domestic constraints on his Ukraine war. His almost complete control of the media, sophisticated domestic propaganda, and use of imprisonment, exile, or murder to squelch dissenting voices, have together prevented the Russian people from hearing any alternative to the state’s distorted narrative of “protecting” persecuted Russian minorities in Ukraine. The permanent silencing of Boris Nemtsov now gives Putin even greater freedom of action, in Ukraine and elsewhere.”

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