Putin condemns murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov

Vladimir Putin
(Image credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the Friday killing of Boris Nemtsov, Russia's former deputy Prime Minister, and said in a telegram to Nemtsov's mother that "everything will be done so that the organizers and perpetrators of a vile and cynical murder are punished."

Nemtsov, 55, was shot four times while walking across a bridge near the Kremlin, BBC News reports. The harsh critic of Putin had served under Russia's first post-Soviet President, Boris Yeltsin, in the 1990s. He became a popular figure in opposition politics after Yeltsin's successor, Putin, came to power.

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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.