The State of Affairs in Russia

[Martinus]

Apparently he was shot near Kremlin.

[Admiral Yi]

Nemtsov's fellow Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin said on Twitter that Nemtsov was shot and is "dead."

Give this writer a Pulitzer.

[alfred russel]

I remember seeing him on Anthony Bourdain's show in Russia talking to him about politics in Russia. I remember thinking, if things were so bad, would he really be going on international TV and getting away with saying the things he is saying? I guess, as it turns out...

[DGuller]

Holy shit!  I guess Putin fears absolutely nothing now.

[MadImmortalMan]

I remember seeing him on Anthony Bourdain's show in Russia talking to him about politics in Russia. I remember thinking, if things were so bad, would he really be going on international TV and getting away with saying the things he is saying? I guess, as it turns out...

I saw that too and thought the same thing.

[Sheilbh]

Strong words by Cameron being reported today by Polish media. Any insights, Brits?

Really? Didn't really make the news here.

But Cameron's words are always strong. It's one of his failings - like the way he often lectures about the need for NATO to spend more on defence while slashing spending at home, in fact the Tories are apparently scrapping their target for defence spending

We are sending advisers to Ukraine though.

[The Brain]

What's the advice?

[Syt]

Yesterday was SpecOps day in Russia.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/putin-establishes-new-polite-people-day-in-russia-/516675.html

Putin Establishes New 'Polite People' Day in Russia

February 27 will from now on be marked in Russia as Special Operations Forces Day, according to a decree signed Thursday by President Vladimir Putin and published on the official legislative website.

The Special Operations Forces, a branch of Russian defense apparatus operating both inside the country and abroad, was formed in March 2013. The Chief of the General Staff said at the time of its creation that the new branch was inspired by the experience of "the world's leading nations," Russian media reported.

Answering its own question of why Feb. 27 was chosen as the day, an article in government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta said: "Remember what happened and where a year ago. And how it all ended."

One year ago, mysterious troops bearing no insignia appeared in Crimea, which was shortly afterward annexed from Ukraine by Russia. The troops, who said little and declined to reveal their identity but ensured order during the annexation and subsequent referendum on joining Russia, quickly became known as "little green men" in the international media and "polite people" in Russia.

Putin initially denied that Russian troops had been dispatched to Crimea, but later admitted it.

In September 2014 State Duma deputy Igor Zotov called for the celebration of Polite People Day on October 7 — Putin's birthday.

[Martinus]

Love that the crime site has been washed by street cleaners within hours from the shooting.

[KRonn]

An opposition leader to Putin has been murdered! Who could have figured. What were the odds of that happening!?   

[DGuller]

To me, there are two truly plausible versions.  The first version is that Nemtsov was killed for his investigation into Ukraine war.  It's hard to imagine that any such investigations were a serious threat to Putin, but then again, plenty of people died for investigating the apartment building bombings or Chechen death squads.  Maybe Putin is just so good at killing meddlesome investigators at the right time that we don't realize how dangerous they really were.

Another plausible version is that this is a Kirov moment, a double provocation.  KGB kills Nemtsov to blame Putin's other targets for a provocation killing.  I imagine that Putin is at least entertaining the option of cleaning the house Stalin style, while his popularity is still high on the back of war propaganda.

[Syt]

The opposition has canceled the big demonstration scheduled for tomorrow, which was scheduled to be one of the biggest in a while (and was already pushed out of the center by authorities into the Southern part of the city).

[Solmyr]

The opposition has canceled the big demonstration scheduled for tomorrow, which was scheduled to be one of the biggest in a while (and was already pushed out of the center by authorities into the Southern part of the city).

They are going to march in memory of Nemtsov instead, going right past the Kremlin to the place of the murder.

[Razgovory]

Holy shit!  I guess Putin fears absolutely nothing now.

A man who does not fear does not kill his enemies.

[CountDeMoney]

Holy shit!  I guess Putin fears absolutely nothing now.

A man who does not fear does not kill his enemies.

The fuck he doesn't.  He kills because he can.