In the Moscow district military court jury announced the verdict in the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, recognizing all five defendants in the case guilty. In an interview with “Apostrophe” Russian lawyer mark Feigin told why the court was not named real customers and organizers of the crime, why Russian President Vladimir Putin covers of the killers, whether in the future Russia be similar to the assassination of political opponents of the government, and different investigation of high-profile crimes in Russia and Ukraine.
— Why the name of the customer of murder of Boris Nemtsov, who was not named in court?
— There was not the organizer nor the customer, that is, it is sound, but only from the mouth of the lawyer of the victims. Why not sound? Because these names are known. They sounded again: Delimkhanov (state Duma Deputy Adam Delimkhanov — “Apostrophe”), Kadyrov (head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, — “the Apostrophe”). But all these names were called the party of the victims. The sentence has not been, so far, only the verdict of the jury, which determines “guilty — not guilty”. Sounded just what these five artists are guilty, they were found involved in the murder. And why they (the customers — the “Apostrophe”) does not call for the prosecution? To do this, there are political reasons because they have the direct patronage of the Kremlin, particularly President Vladimir Putin. I’m not inclined to think that he gave the order or was directly related to the ordering of the murder of Boris Nemtsov, but this is purely my speculative conclusion. But the fact that it covers the assassins, the organizers, customers, for me — that’s for sure. The Kremlin is well known who killed and ordered.
— So, your recent words that the Kremlin has effectively granted indulgence to the customers of the murder, mean that Putin personally gave such indulgence?
— And above it there is nobody. Who is taller than Putin, who would have to cover these people? In Russia, the pyramid is arranged in the system, so of course we are talking about Putin. The Kremlin has direct political ban. But the investigation does not answer the main question: whether the government wants to know the names of the organizers and customers, in order to punish them? No, not wants. And makes it more or less consciously.
— Why is the result still the main and actually the basic version left the Chechen trail? And does this mean that the murder is directly involved, the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov? After all, Ruslan muhudinov, of which the consequence calls the organizer of the murder was unlikely to act independently?
— First tell me, why is it called comrade was killed Nemtsov? The answer is no. With Boris, I knew him well, was in some political organizations, in the same “Solidarity”. And if we now discuss the motives, I mean really who is not Boris Nemtsov, were extremely friendly to the Chechen people? Ex-wife of Boris Nemtsov, the first, was a Tatar by origin, that is Islam for it is not alien. Second, he collected signatures at the time of the termination of the war in Chechnya, it was still in the 90-ies, when he was Governor (Nizhny Novgorod region — “Apostrophe”). The motives of national hostility, or political, or religious, which draws a court, in order to justify this crime in their decisions, ultimately unconvincing. There is no reason why the Chechens hate Boris Nemtsov.
This, of course, ordered a political murder. But his motives are of a different order. The Germans were the opposition, the opponent of the Putin regime, the enemy of his satellites, which, in particular, is Kadyrov. Kadyrov is extremely loyal to the government, to Putin. And he is a tool of Putin in the sense that at some point the savagery of the native of the North Caucasus Kadyrov will help Putin to save him from his protests. So Putin is holding it in reserve for such “petty pranks” he allows. For such costs the system is ready to go. Well, killed Politkovskaya (the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya — “Apostrophe”), killed Nemtsov, every day to kill someone… But for them it is just the cost. Unpleasant cost because they are public losses, but this is just the cost. One, two, three, five, hundred people… It is not a figure for which in Chechnya to make that clear. And all are aware of, understand everything.
And we must not forget that there are anti-Kadyrov’s service in this system. FSB definitely do not like Kadyrov, his independence, that he has surrounded himself with an army at the expense of the Federal budget. But the last word is for Putin, not for the FSB. In this system, Putin himself represents and the FSB, and the North Caucasus, and the entire system. He himself is the aim and the means of this system, so he had to ask the FSB, what they think about it. He has his own strategic plan for the preservation of their in power, Kadyrov is this plan being the most important part. So why did Putin himself will break this car? So, as long as Kadyrov is this safe the roof, he let that one slip, he’s removed the brackets, when there are such loud murders. And I even believe that Putin is all profitable because Putin specifically the Germans was not a threat. The Germans did not constitute some kind of a threat to the Putin system. And so the elimination of it — and, moreover, is noisy, with the consequences to Putin and do not need. To overcome the consequences of this murder are much more complicated than to ignore the existence of people like Nemtsov.
— Can we say that this is a logical conclusion of the case, and that in the future it will be the same, as in Ukraine, with the case of murdered journalist Georgy Gongadze, when the perpetrators were punished, while the customers — no, and so it continues for many years?
— Yes and no. There are still a few different situations. Frankly, now there are no obstacles in Ukraine for the final investigation of the Gongadze murder. Obstacles can be in power when you do not are interested to find customers, if we say, for example, about Kuchma. Whether Kuchma is interested in the investigation of the Gongadze case? Probably not. As far as the government is ready to comply with this desire? This is a question for the Ukrainian authorities, but, by and large, the legal obstacles to the investigation of this case in Ukraine.
As for Russia… Yes, it’ll still be in the same form, yet the government will not change, and yet new, which replaced the current, I will not do this investigation for real, don’t try to identify the real customers. That is, we need political change. In a sense, these cases are similar and some are different. Ukraine needs the political will to investigate, in Ukraine, albeit weak, but political democracy is. And in Russia there is no democracy, we start from an authoritarian, rather rigid system. That’s the difference between the two countries. The political nature of both murders is obvious, but the consequences may be different, because different possibilities of systems to give an answer to your question society.
Is there any chance that Russia will be a similar political murders given that customers do not be punished?
— I’m just convinced that the political killings will, I have no doubt. First, because sooner or later something happens, it happens everywhere: in Ukraine and in Russia. But in Russia, the political order comes from the top authorities. Even if directly ordered the murder are not beneficiaries of this system, in a broad sense, the system itself wants these murders, because that’s what they think of a defense against challenges, which makes this the system of society. It is, of course, puny, civil society in Russia, amorphous, fragmented… But that’s what they as the instruments carry out plans for their protection. They actively kill, kill, loud, public, it doesn’t happen often. Of course, we cannot say that the policy of assassinations is so vast, but they will occur because, on the one hand, the hysteria that supported the Kremlin’s propaganda, divides society into loyal and disloyal, “the fifth column” and the majority, and therefore these sentiments will inspire from the top, create the desire to solve all problems at once, killing the man. As the saying goes, no man — no problem.
Will continue the killing of political opponents, because they have no opportunity for response no, nonviolence is a more important principle than of power. The government allows it, they need the power, it never changes. Therefore, the electoral and political assassinations can be. Another thing is that we don’t know where the stone will fall — whether any particular crazy decides to deal with opponents, whether it be ordering a murder on the bridge in front of the Kremlin. Murder differs in that it is planned, selected funds involved people, the conditions for hiding are created by powerful people, not shepherds and farmers who participated in the murder of Nemtsov. Much more important than power, which covers these murders, so she has primary responsibility.
