Mass March To Honour Murdered Putin Critic

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Tens of thousands of protesters have marched through the streets of central Moscow to honour murdered Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.

Organisers said more than 70,000 people joined the rally to mourn the former deputy prime minister, who was gunned down near the Kremlin on Friday.

Many of the demonstrators carried portraits of Putin critic Mr Nemtsov, as well as placards declaring "I am not afraid" and "He died for Russia's future".

Opposition leaders said the protest was aimed at stopping a "campaign of hate" directed at those who question President Vladimir Putin's rule.

"If we can stop the campaign of hate that's being directed at the opposition, then we have a chance to change Russia," said Gennady Gudkov, an opposition leader.

"If not then we face the prospect of mass civil conflict.

"The authorities are corrupt and don't allow any threats to them to emerge. Boris was uncomfortable for them."

Police estimated the crowd on Moscow's streets was around 21,000 people.

Mourners earlier laid flowers and lit candles on a bridge near the Kremlin where Mr Nemtsov was gunned down.

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Gallery: Thousands in Moscow to honour opposition politician

Russia's opposition supporters carry portraits of Boris Nemtsov through Moscow with the words "He fought for a free Russia," "He died for the future of Russia"

Russian Communist party supporters also rallied against the policies conducted by the Russian government

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Nemtsov was due to lead an opposition march but his supporters marched to mourn his death

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They will march to the spot on Great Moskvoretsky Bridge where he was killed

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Many also carried black balloons through the city

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The 55-year-old was shot in the back several times just before midnight on Friday as he was walking home from a restaurant in the centre of the city.

The killing was the latest in a string of murders of opposition figures in Mr Putin's 15 years in power and recalls the shooting of anti-Kremlin reporter Anna Politkovskaya, who was killed in October 2006.

Speaking to Sky News, the former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili accused Mr Putin of running a "mafia state".

"It's a strange coincidence... that all of his main critics and everyone that crosses his way somehow finish up in this way," he said.

"That again resonates with the fact that he has really turned Russia into some kind of mafia state".

Mr Putin has condemned the death and blamed the latest killing on enemies trying to discredit the Kremlin.

In a message to Mr Nemtsov's mother, he said: "Everything will be done so that the organisers and perpetrators of a vile and cynical murder get the punishment they deserve."

Amnesty International said: "There is already a list of unsolved political murders and attacks in Russia.

"We cannot allow Boris Nemtsov to become just another name on this list."

Demonstrations were also held outside the Russian embassy in London.

Meanwhile, the White House has demanded that the investigation is "prompt, impartial and transparent".

President Barack Obama, who met Mr Nemtsov in 2009, described him as a "tireless advocate" for the rights of Russian citizens, and cited his work in fighting corruption.

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Gallery: Profile: Who Was Boris Nemtsov?

Rose to prominence under Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s and grew into a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin. He was also an environmentalist, a nuclear scientist and father of four

In 1997 he was made deputy prime minister and put in charge of economic reform. The economic crisis of 1998 cost him his job in parliament and any presidential hopes he had

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Prime Minister David Cameron said the Russian people had been deprived of a champion of their rights and that Mr Nemtsov was greatly admired in Britain, not least by Margaret Thatcher.

"I am shocked and sickened by the callous murder of Boris Nemtsov as he walked in the heart Moscow," he said.

"This despicable act must be fully, rapidly and transparently investigated, and those responsible brought to justice."

Investigators say gunmen fired at least eight shots from a car as Mr Nemtsov walked with a woman named by Russian media as 23-year-old Ukrainian model Anna Duritskaya, who was unhurt.

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Gallery: Tributes Left At Scene Of Boris Nemtsov Murder

Supporters of Boris Nemtsov have left flowers at the scene of his murder near St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow

The Russian opposition politician, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot four times in the back within sight of the Kremlin

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Footage aired by Russian TVC channel from a distant camera showed the suspected killer running along the road and jumping into a waiting car which then sped off.

Yevgeny Chichvarkin, a Russian expatriate businessman based in London, told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan that Mr Nemtsov's killers "didn't feel any fear" of retaliation from Mr Putin.

Asked for his opinion about whether the Kremlin was involved in the death, he said: "(Their) knowledge is 100% because they control the whole area around the Kremlin and they control it on a very high professional level."

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Malu Rasanya