NEWSWATCH: My friend charted the looting of a nation; his death is a warning to all Russians

[“My friend charted the looting of a nation; his death is a warning to all Russians” – The Sunday Times (UK) – Edward Lucas – March 1, 2015]

Edward Lucas reflects upon the Moscow assassination of Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, writing in London’s The Sunday Times.

Nemtsov was my closest friend in Russian politics. I had known him since the late 1990s when he was trying vainly to stem the sleaze and authoritarianism that eventually brought Putin and his ex-KGB cronies to power.

Unlike some Russian liberals, Nemtsov saw through Putin from the beginning. He disliked the new leader’s background as an unrepentant KGB officer, and worried about his murky years spent in the city administration of gangster-ridden St Petersburg.

Concerns are raised about the character and tactics of the Putin regime, and the rest of the world’s response.

The Putin regime uses force against opponents, whether by murdering, beating or abducting them as individuals, or invading them as countries. It dresses up its actions in phoney legalism, and surrounds them with a blizzard of blustering, mendacious propaganda.

It uses its grip on power as a means to colossal self-enrichment, and it uses that wealth to bribe and subvert the West. This is bad for Russia and a grave threat to us. Nemtsov explained this all, with wit, insight and courage.

We did not listen. Now he is dead. What will we do?

Click here for “My friend charted the looting of a nation; his death is a warning to all Russians”