Boris Nemtsov, a charismatic Russian opposition leader, was shot dead near the Kremlin in Moscow on February 27.

Nemtsov, a former Deputy Prime Minister, had accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of leading Russia into a crisis with the West with his "mad, aggressive, and deadly policy of war against Ukraine."

"The country needs a political reform," Nemtsov said on Ekho Moskvy radio hours before he was assassinated. "When power is concentrated in the hands of one person and this person rules for ever, this will lead to an absolute catastrophe, absolute."

Nemtsov was working on a report documenting Russia's role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. He had planned to lead an anti-government protest in Moscow on March 1.

• New Atlanticist
• Russia
• Original
• Eurasia Center
• Damon Wilson
• Ukraine
• John E. Herbst
• Ashish Kumar Sen