Thousands of people marched in central Moscow Sunday to mourn murdered opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
Many of the marchers carried Russian flags and placards saying, “I am not afraid,” in memory of the veteran liberal politician and vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin.
Organizers said 70,000 people joined the tribute to Nemtsov, but Moscow police described the crowd as much smaller, about 16,000.
Some of the marchers, young and old, carried pictures of the 55-year-old Nemtsov, who was shot dead on a bridge near the Kremlin while he was walking home from a restaurant Friday night.
Daniel Schearf, reporting from Moscow for the Voice of America, said some protesters, as they neared the bridge where Nemtsov was killed, briefly chanted, “Russia without Putin!”
The crowd was largely somber, but they did chant slogans, including “never forget, never forgive,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Sunday.
Russian authorities, usually slow to give permission for large opposition rallies, gave quick approval for the memorial march.
Nemtsov was to have led an anti-war and anti-Putin rally in Moscow Sunday. Instead, the memorial was planned for the man whom U.S. President Barack Obama called a “tireless advocate” for the rights of the Russian people.
Police are hunting for those responsible for shooting Nemtsov four times from a car while he and a female companion crossed a bridge over the Moscow River Friday night, just steps from the Kremlin. The woman was not hurt.
Source-VOA
