Nemtsov Murder and Investigation

– On February 27, Boris Nemtsov was murdered two days before he was to lead a big opposition march against the war in Ukraine and Putin’s anti-crisis program.

-Putin assigned heads of law-enforcement to take

personal control; he did not take personal control, a misunderstanding

cleared up February 28 by spokesman Dmitry Peskov

– On March 1, the

originally-scheduled anti-war march was converted into a memorial

march; many participants came who said they wouldn’t have taken part in

the original event but felt that “a line should be drawn” against

political murders.

-A wide variety of

theories were put out by authorities but the first and lasting one was a claim that the

murderers were Islamists angered by the cartoons of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, whose

journalists were killed in a terrorist attack in January.

–

Nemtsov’s Ukrainian companion Anna Duritskaya said she did not see the

murderers; she was kept under house arrest and interrogated for several

days. She returned to Kiev where she received death threats.

– A snowplow driver was first suspected, although Duritskaya said she went to him for help; he turned out to have large debts.

–

A Caucasian man named Aslan Alkhanov was claimed to be found to have committed

suicide in the suburb of Klyonskoye in New Moscow; he was tied to the

Nemtsov murder by one conspiracy site, which claimed Ukrainian Right

Sector leader Dmitro Yarosh commissioned the hit through him, abetted by CANVAS, an anti-Milosevich non-violent resistance NGO. No evidence that Alkhanov even existed has been found.

– Investigators said a

single mother of three — also coincidentally in Klyonskoye — turned

out to be the original owner of the car purchased by the Chechen suspects who

never re-registered it.

– On the basis of the discovery of this car,

said to be the getaway car identified through on-site video and traffic patrol

surveillance, within 7 days, on March 7 and 8, 6 suspects were seized, all Chechens from Ingushetia, and all relatives: Zaur Dadayev, Anzor Gubashev, Shagid Gubashev, Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, Khamzat Bakhayev, and Beslan Shavanov. All were originally from the town of Voznesensky, Malgobeksiy District in Ingushetia and moved to Chechnya or Moscow later.

– Zaur Dadayev, former deputy commander of the Sever Battalion in the Chechen Interior Ministry troops emerged as the main suspect on March 7 although by March 8 authorities sounded less sure. Beslan Shavanov also served in the Sever Battalion. The Gubashev brothers, his relatives, worked in a private security firm in Moscow.

– Vesti aired a program with an interview of the neighbor of the house where the Chechens were living outside Moscow; he said they had frequent fights and he had complained to police. Shortly before the murder, they went to visit relatives in Ingushetia.

–

These Chechens had previously racked up numerous parking and speeding tickets; the car

was also seen on surveillance cameras on Malaya Ordnyka, the street

where Nemtsov lived.

– One suspect, Beslan Shavanov, was blown up by a grenade when the police came to his door March 7 (police say he blew himself up; his family say he threw a grenade and missed.)

– Dadayev

reportedly went on leave for 30 days January 27, simultaneously submitting his resignation,

which went into effect the day before the murder. He was said to be the

main suspect in the case.

– The Sever [North] Battalion and also the Yug [South] Battalion were created in 2006 under the patronage of Ramzan Kadyrov himself. They consist of former officers of the so-called Anti-Terrorist Center of Chechnya and the presidential security service. Formally, these units are subordinate to the command of the North Caucasus District troops of the Interior Ministry of Russia.

– Officials said there were “no

contractors” and Dadayev, the triggerman, was both the organizer and

perpetrator, proven by “forensic evidence,” although investigators said

initially theyhad to find the gun and tie it to Dadayev.

– Although on March 1,

Ramzan Kadyrov blamed Western intelligence agencies, the next week on March 8 he

said the suspects were heroes and devout Muslims.

– The clash between

the FSB’s characterization of Dadayev as “an accused murderer” and

Kadyrov’s characterization of him as “a brave warrior” meant that

something had to give.

– Independent media and bloggers speculated

that there was a war between the FSB and Kadyrov; Novaya Gazeta published an investigative piece that pointed toward the Delimkhanov family; Adam Delimkhanov, a senator in the Federation Council who is on the US sanctions list and is suspected of masterminding the murder of former Chechen warlord and Russian commander Sulim Yamadayev, had a cousin

– Members of the Public

Monitoring Commission visited the defendants in detention in the FSB’s

Lefortovo Prison; they found signs of bruises and scratches and Dadayev

told them he was beaten, a sack was put over his head and he was brought

this way to Moscow.

– On the night of March, the human rights

monitors got visits to their home from investigators who threatened them

with prosecution; the next day the Investigative Committee published a

notice threatening them with prosecution for “obstruction of justice.”

– That day, the head of the Public Monitoring Mission also refuted the claims of torture, as did Dadayev’s lawyer.

–

The family of Shavanov was discovered to have received a compensation

from the Russian government after a successful lawsuit at the European

Court of Human Rights for human rights violation during the first

Chechen war.



– Komsomolskaya Pravda published an interview

March 13 with an anonymous FSB official who says Adam Osmayev, a

pro-Kiev and anti-Moscow Chechen, is behind the murder of Nemtsov, and that Dadayev was working for him. Nemtsov’s friend an co-chairman of his party RPR-Parnas discounted any “Ukrainian footprint” in the case and told Gazeta.ru that the investigation’s fingering of “Islamists” and “Ukrainians” meant they were covering up the murder rather than investigating it.

– Kavkaz Center, the web site of the Caucasian Emirate terrorist group, has published claims about upheavals in the administration of Kadyrov. Magomed Daudov, Kadyrov’s chief of staff, whose call sign is “Lord,” has “fallen ill” and gone to his native village of Geldygen. Lord forced the sister of Nemtsov’s killer Dadayev to give testimony against Alibek Delimkhanov, brother of Federation Council Sen. Adam Delimkhanov, head of the Sever unit where Dadayev served as deputy commander. The sister claims Alibek was directly involved in Nemtsov’s murder. (Summary in Russian by Oleg Kashin here.)

Kremlin

– Putin reportedly held a meeting on March 13 with Supreme Court chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev at his residence in Novo-Ogoryova; as with previous meetings this weeks there are concerns that a video of the meeting could have been taped in advance.

– If Putin were contemplating discussing any issues about his succession it would not likely be with the Supreme Court chairman but the Constitutional Court chairman.

– Swiss tabloids reported that a baby was born to Alina Kabayeva, said to be Putin’s mistress. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denies a baby was born to Putin.

Red Square

– On March 11, a tow-truck reportedly drove on to Red Square.

– On March 13, many buses and other vehicles were driven on to the square.

– Pictures were also disseminated of construction work on Red Square — possibly bleachers for a celebration of the annexation of Crimea March 16.

– Photos of tanks purporting to be deployed on Red Square were debunked as fakes.

Investigative Committee

– Maj. Gen. Igor Krasnov, special cases investigator known for

solving crimes involving Russian ultranationalists, was put in charge of

the case but is not making statements to the press.

– Investigative

Committee head Aleksandr Bastrykin has made several statements on the Nemtsov case but is not

the only one in charge, and has not made any announcements this week.

-Bastrykin reprinted Kommersant and Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports on the web site, thereby indicating the newspaper accounts of the murder he had approved.

-The Investigative Committee opened a case for “incitement of war” against retired US general Robert Scales who suggested more Russians should be killed to stop the war in Ukraine, on a Fox News talk show.

– On March 12, Aleksandr Khoroshavin, governor of Sakhalin Region was charged with receiving more than $5.6 million in bribes through Andrei Ikramov in the form of kickbacks of 6% of contracts for the Sakhalin company Energostroi.

Federal Security Service (FSB)

– Aleksandr Bortnikov,

head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) made a trip to Washington, DC February 19-20

to attend a conference “Countering Violent Extremism” and gave a presentation claiming 1,700 people

from Russia have left to fight in Syria and Iraq; this number is not

seen to have a basis.

– FSB agents and Interior Ministry Main Criminal Investigation Department made the arrests of the suspects in Ingushetia. FSB chief Bortnikov made the announcement of the arrest of the suspects and a number of subsequent statements about the Nemtsov investigation which indicate that the FSB is taking the lead in the case.

– Bortnikov traveled to Crimea March 10 for a meeting of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee.

Interior Ministry (MVD)

– Putin said at the

annual meeting of the Interior Ministry on March 4 that there should be

“no more political murders” — but many missed the rest of his speech in

which he called for a crackdown on “street crime” and ordered enhanced

volunteer police auxiliaries called druzhinniki to be established as in the Soviet era.

– Sources say

Vladimir Kolokoltsev announced his resignation at the Interior Ministry

annual meeting, to take effect in late March.

– Persistent rumors spread by bots on Twitter that Gen. Viktor Zolotov, commander-in-chief of the Interior Ministry’s forces, has been murdered. A search of his name on Twitter reveals that there are hundreds of identical tweets from new or little-used or strange accounts. This technique has often been used this year to intimidate people.