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Vladimir Putin already has a theory about who killed one of his biggest critics
Alex Wong/Getty Images Russian opposition leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov speaks during a news conference on 'Corruption and Abuse in Sochi Olympics' January 30, 2014 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
Vladimir Putin — or at least someone close to him — is a logical suspect in the death of Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister shot on a bridge just 200 meters from the Kremlin walls.
It wouldn't be unprecedented. Other Putin critics have died under suspicious circumstances in the Russian capital, including the investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006.
As if to preempt this line of inquiry, Putin is already floating his own theory of what happened, according to Dmitry Zaks of AFP:
#BREAKING #Putin thinks #Nemtsov killed by hired assassin, views it as a (political) "provocation": #Kremlin spokesman Peskov via state TV
— Dmitry Zaks (@dmitryzaksAFP) February 27, 2015
Less than an hour after Nemtsov death was reported, Putin entered into the controversy around his death in a second way. The Russian president is "taking personal control of the investigation into Nemtsov's murder," according to a Kremlin spokesperson, something that will not be very reassuring for Putin's opponents.
Putin also condemned the murder, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. He said the shooting late on Friday in Moscow could also be a "provocation," as the opposition plans a big protest in Moscow on Sunday.
Peskov said Putin had been quickly informed of the killing and that the president had expressed his condolences.
Putin's investigators may not have to travel far if they're actually serious about looking into the killing. As this tweet from The Interpreter demonstrates, one of the Kremlin's most prominent critics was shot across the street from Russia's seat of power:
Assassinated Russian Politician Boris Nemtsov Was Killed Just Outside Walls of the Kremlin http://t.co/ySG3fqzXwc pic.twitter.com/eaE9eAJaT7
— The Interpreter (@Interpreter_Mag) February 27, 2015
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