III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 378 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the courageous work and life 

of Russian opposition leader Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov and renewing 

the call for a full and transparent investigation into the tragic murder 

of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov in Moscow on February 27, 2015. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2016 

Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

MCCAIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. KAINE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the courageous 

work and life of Russian opposition leader Boris 

Yefimovich Nemtsov and renewing the call for a full 

and transparent investigation into the tragic murder of 

Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov in Moscow on February 27, 

2015. 

Whereas February 27, 2016, marks the first anniversary of 

the murder of former Russian Deputy Prime Minister, 

Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov (referred to in this preamble 

as ‘‘Dr. Nemtsov’’); 

Whereas Dr. Nemtsov dedicated his life to the causes of freedom and human rights for the Russian people and sought 

to reduce the corruption in the Government of Russia; 


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•SRES 378 IS 

Whereas, on February 27, 2015— 

(1) Dr. Nemtsov was murdered on the Bolshoi 

Moskvoretsky Bridge in Moscow in view of the Kremlin; 

and 

(2) President Obama called for a ‘‘prompt, impartial, and transparent’’ investigation into the murder of 

Dr. Nemtsov; 

Whereas, on March 1, 2015, tens of thousands of people 

marched through central Moscow in remembrance of Dr. 

Nemtsov; 

Whereas the Russian courts and the Investigative Committee 

of the Russian Federation have consistently rejected requests to qualify the murder of Dr. Nemtsov under Article 277 of the Russian Criminal Code as ‘‘an attempt on 

the life of a public statesman’’; 

Whereas within 10 days of the murder of Dr. Nemtsov, 

Chechen suspect Zaur Dadayev admitted to killing Dr. 

Nemtsov at the behest of Ruslan Geremeyev, a senior officer in the Sever Battalion of Chechnya; 

Whereas, on March 8, 2015, Chechen leader Ramzan 

Kadyrov called Zaur Dadayev a ‘‘true patriot’’; 

Whereas, on March 9, 2015, Mr. Kadryov was awarded the 

Order of Honor by Russian President Vladimir Putin; 

Whereas, on January 20, 2016, Aleksandr Bastrykin, the 

chief of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation responsible for investigating the murder of Dr. 

Nemtsov, declared that the case had been fully solved; 

Whereas the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation charged only Ruslan Muhudinov, the driver of 

Ruslan Geremeyev, with organizing the murder of Dr. 

Nemtsov; 


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•SRES 378 IS 

Whereas, on May 26, 2015, Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, a close friend and colleague of Dr. 

Nemtsov, was severely poisoned by an unknown assailant, 

resulting in multiple organ failures and a coma; 

Whereas, on January 25, 2016, the daughter of Dr. 

Nemtsov, Zhanna Nemtsova, appealed to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to investigate the 

murder of her father; 

Whereas, on February 1, 2016, Chechen leader Ramzan 

Kadyrov posted a video on Instagram that shows Russian 

opposition leaders Mikhail Kasyanov and Vladimir KaraMurza through the crosshairs of a sniper rifle accompanied by the comment, ‘‘Those who did not understand, 

will understand’’; and 

Whereas the Russian Federation is a member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the 

Council of Europe, which have the capacity to conduct a 

more credible investigation: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the legacy of courageous Russian 

3 opposition leader Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov, who 

4 dedicated his life to fighting corruption and pro5 moting the principles of democracy, rule of law, and 

6 the inherent dignity of human beings; 

7 (2) encourages the public release of all surveil8 lance tapes in the area surrounding the crime scene 

9 to aid in the investigation; 

10 (3) urges the United States Government, in of11 ficial contacts with representatives of the Russian 


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•SRES 378 IS 

1 Government, to emphasize the importance of bring2 ing to justice all of the conspirators in the murder 

3 of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov; and 

4 (4) calls on the President to significantly in5 crease United States Government support for the 

6 causes for which Boris Yefimovich Nemstov gave his 

7 life. 

Æ 


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