Vladimir Putin has announced he has personally taken charge of the investigation into the death of Boris Nemtsov, a prominent Putin critic and Russian opposition leader.

Nemtsov was reportedly shot multiple times on Friday night while walking on Moscow's Zamoskvoretskiy bridge, near the Kremlin. Putin announced that he would take over the investigation almost immediately after the murder.

Putin's decision to personally take over the investigation seems like an odd decision, given that Nemtsov was a prominent Putin critic. Indeed, Nemtsov had been scheduled to lead a protest march this Sunday in Moscow.

Putin's government is believed to have murdered other critics in the past, so it seems likely that Putin taking over the investigation will have the effect of heightening suspicions rather than easing them.

According to comments that Putin's spokesman made to Russian news agency Itar-TASS, Putin had described the killing as having a "provocative character."