The Death of a Russian

According to a report by "The Economist", Boris Nemtsov was murdered on February 27 by assassins while the security services of the Kremlin witnessed the crime. Nemtsov is an opposition politician. "The Economist" described him in the following way.

Almost unique among Russian politicians, Mr Nemtsov remained scrupulously honest and sincere throughout his political career. He earned no riches, and at age 53 returned to grassroots politics, winning election as a deputy in the local council in Yaroslavl. Physically fit, he considered himself a marathon runner in politics. Mr Nemtsov could fairly claim to have spent his life guided by values rather than interests or ideology.

According to a report by the "New York Times", Nemtsov was preparing to publish a pamphlet illustrating Russian involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. He appears to have uncovered some sensitive information, and it convinced a faction in the Kremlin to kill him.

Though the majority of Russians are indifferent to his death, some Russians like Mikhail Shishkin mourn his death. Shishkin knows that evil pervades Russia, and he describes the evil in the following way in his essay in the "New York Times".

In the 16th year of his rule, President Vladimir V. Putin has achieved everything a dictator could strive for. His people love him; his enemies fear him. He has created a regime that rests not on the shaky paragraphs of a constitution but on the unshakable laws of the vassal’s personal loyalty to his sovereign, from the bottom to the top of the pyramid of power. [...] It is impossible to breathe in a country where the air is permeated with hatred. Much hatred has always been followed in history by much blood. What awaits my country? Transformation into a gigantic version of Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region?