III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 93 

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

of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, and calling for a swift 

and transparent investigation into his tragic murder in Moscow on February 27, 2015. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2, 2015 

Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. AYOTTE, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. 

DURBIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. COTTON, Mr. KAINE, Mr. 

KIRK, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CORKER, Mr. RISCH, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. COONS, 

Mr. MURPHY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. 

ISAKSON) 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 

Nemtsov, and calling for a swift and transparent investigation into his tragic murder in Moscow on February 

27, 2015. 

Whereas, on February 27, 2015, former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov was shot four times in the back 

within view of the Kremlin and a few short blocks from 

FSB headquarters in Russia’s capital city Moscow; 

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


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to rid Russia’s government of the corruption that fuels 

authoritarianism; 

Whereas President Barack Obama called Mr. Nemtsov a 

‘‘tireless advocate’’ for the rights of Russian citizens; 

Whereas Prime Minister David Cameron said Mr. Nemtsov’s 

‘‘life was dedicated to speaking up tirelessly for the Russian people, to demanding their right to democracy and 

liberty under the rule of law, and to an end to corruption. 

He did so without fear, and never gave in to intimidation’’; 

Whereas, on March 1, 2015, over 50,000 people representing 

a wide range of political parties and movements marched 

solemnly through Moscow to honor Mr. Nemtsov’s life, 

many holding signs saying ‘‘I am not afraid’’; 

Whereas, before his death, Mr. Nemtsov planned to lead a 

Spring March on March 1, 2015, against the Russian 

military’s presence in Ukraine; 

Whereas, in the weeks prior to his death, Mr. Nemtsov had 

reportedly been meeting with the families of Russian soldiers killed during Russia’s military operations in 

Ukraine; 

Whereas Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Mr. 

Nemtsov planned to release an investigative report showing proof of Russia’s role in the Ukraine crisis; 

Whereas, two years ago, Mr. Nemtsov led the release of a report titled, ‘‘Winter Olympics in the Sub-Tropics: Corruption and Abuse in Sochi’’, which implicated Russian 

President Vladimir Putin in the estimated 

$26,000,000,000 frittered away in ‘‘embezzlement and 

kickbacks’’; 


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Whereas Mr. Nemtsov said on Ekho Moskvy radio hours before his murder that President Putin was inserting Russia into the ongoing conflict by his ‘‘mad, aggressive and 

deadly policy of war against Ukraine,’’ and asserted 

‘‘when power is concentrated in the hands of one person 

and this person rules forever, this will lead to absolute 

catastrophe, absolute’’; 

Whereas, according to Mr. Nemtsov’s lawyer, Vadim 

Prokhorov, the activist reported threats to his safety to 

police authorities who failed to provide him with protection; 

Whereas Mr. Nemtsov’s associates, such as leading opposition 

figure Alexei Navalny, stated that Mr. Nemtsov would 

have been under clear state surveillance as he walked toward the Kremlin shortly before his murder; 

Whereas Mr. Nemtsov was murdered in one of the most heavily secured areas of Moscow; 

Whereas opposition activist Ilya Yashin, commenting on the 

murder of Nemtsov, stated that ‘‘the atmosphere of hatred toward alternative thinkers that has formed over the 

past year, since the annexation of Crimea, may have 

played its role,’’ referring to the surge of intense and officially endorsed nationalist discourse in Russia since it 

annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula; 

Whereas President Putin called critics of his government policy ‘‘a fifth column’’ and ‘‘national traitors,’’ inviting violent attacks upon them; 

Whereas President Putin warned publically in 2012, shortly 

after returning to the Presidency, that his opponents 

were planning to stage a murder of their own as a ‘‘provocation’’; 


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Whereas several prominent critics of President Putin and his 

government have died gruesomely since he came to power 

as head of the Russian National Security Service and 

through his current office of President; 

Whereas, on September 21, 2000, Iskandar Khatloni, a reporter for the Tajik-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who had been working on stories 

about human rights abuses in Chechnya, was killed in his 

apartment by an ax-wielding assailant; 

Whereas, on August 21, 2002, Vladimir Golovlyov, leader of 

the Liberal Russia faction in the lower house of parliament, was shot to death in a Moscow park while walking his dog after accusing President Putin of autocratic 

governance; 

Whereas, on July 3, 2003, Yuri Shchekochikhin, a vocal opposition journalist and member of the Russian Duma investigating the 1999 apartment bombings that killed 

nearly 300 people, died 12 days after being hospitalized 

for a mysterious illness, believed to be poison, before he 

could travel to the United States to discuss Russian corruption cases with the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 

Whereas, on October 7, 2006, journalist and human rights 

activist Anna Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of the 

Kremlin, was shot and killed in her Moscow apartment 

building; 

Whereas, on November 3, 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, a 

former KGB officer and vocal critic of President Putin, 

was poisoned when radioactive polonium-210 was allegedly slipped into his tea as he met with two former Russian security services men in a restaurant in a London 

hotel, and British investigators have said they have eviVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Mar 02, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR93.IS SR93

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dence of Russian involvement in the murder of 

Litvinenko; 

Whereas, on August 31, 2008, Magomed Yevloyev, owner of 

a news site called Ingushetiya, popular for its human 

rights and press freedom stories, died from a gunshot 

wound to the head sustained while being transported by 

regional Ingushetia police following his arrest at the airport in the regional capital; 

Whereas, on January 19, 2009, human rights lawyer 

Stanslav Markelov, who defended opponents of the Government of the Russian Federation, was shot dead by a 

man using a pistol in the middle of the afternoon on a 

busy street in Moscow; 

Whereas, on July 15, 2009, Russian human rights journalist 

and activist Natalia Estemirova was abducted in front of 

her home in Grozny, Chechnya, taken across the border 

into Ingushetia, shot, and dumped in a roadside gutter; 

Whereas, on November 16, 2009, after human rights lawyer 

Sergei Magnitsky was jailed for uncovering $230,000,000 

in tax fraud perpetuated by Russian officials, died in 

prison after being beaten and enduring horrible conditions and suffering from pancreatitis that did not receive 

adequate medical care; 

Whereas President Obama called for a ‘‘prompt, impartial, 

and transparent’’ investigation to bring the perpetrators 

of Mr. Nemtsov’s murder to justice; 

Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry stated ‘‘We hope the 

authorities will join the world in producing the credible, 

transparent investigation necessary to find out who did— 

who was behind this and who did it.’’; 


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Whereas Prime Minister Cameron stated that the callous 

murder must be ‘‘fully, rapidly and transparently investigated, and those responsible brought to justice’’; 

Whereas suspicion of Russian authorities in Mr. Nemtsov’s 

murder cannot be ruled out given his criticism of the regime; 

Whereas far too few of those responsible in the killings cited 

above have been brought to justice, raising serious questions about the ability of Russian authorities to conduct 

a credible investigation into Mr. Nemtsov’s murder; 

Whereas impunity and lack of accountability prevail in the 

Russian Federation; 

Whereas law enforcement, judicial, and investigative bodies 

are often used to target political opponents and civil society in the Russian Federation and thus lack the credibility to conduct an investigation themselves; and 

Whereas the Russian Federation is a member of both the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe 

and the Council of Europe, and these independent groups 

should be considered for investigation into Mr. Nemtsov’s 

murder in order to lend the investigation credibility: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the courageous work of Russian 

3 opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who dedicated his 

4 life to the fight against corruption and in support of 

5 the universal and inalienable rights of the Russian 

6 people to freely choose their leaders and live accord7 ing to democratic standards; 


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1 (2) calls for a swift and transparent investiga2 tion into his tragic murder using mechanisms from 

3 either the Organization for Security and Cooperation 

4 in Europe (OSCE) or the Council of Europe, includ5 ing allowing willing OSCE member states to invoke 

6 the Moscow Mechanism, as was done with Belarus 

7 in 2011; 

8 (3) encourages the public release of all surveil9 lance tapes in the area surrounding the crime scene 

10 from different sources and angles to aid in the inves11 tigation; 

12 (4) urges the President to add the names of 

13 persons that Mr. Nemtsov requested be added to the 

14 visa ban list as provided for by the Sergei Magnitsky 

15 Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (title IV of 

16 Public Law 112–208; 126 Stat. 1502) and continue 

17 to sanction human rights violators; 

18 (5) encourages the President to send a high 

19 level United States delegation to Mr. Nemtsov’s fu20 neral service; and 

21 (6) calls on the President to significantly in22 crease United States Government support for like23 minded partners in the Russian Federation and the 

24 region to combat the flow of propaganda and the cliVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Mar 02, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR93.IS SR93

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1 mate of hatred created by President Putin in the 

2 Russian Federation. 

Æ 


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