Four days after he was gunned down by an unknown assailant in the heart of Moscow, former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov is to be laid to rest Tuesday.
A stream of people arrived for a somber memorial service staged at the Sakharov Center in Moscow.
Some
held flowers as they filed past the open casket of the prominent
Kremlin critic and paid respects to his mother, Dina Eydman, and his
children Anton and Zhanna.
Hundreds more lined up in the cold outside.
Mikhail
Kasyanov, a former prime minister under President Vladimir Putin who is
now a leading opposition figure and worked closely with Nemtsov, was
among the mourners to speak at the service.
He said he believed Nemtsov, known for his outspoken views, was killed out of revenge for his politics.
He also said he thought the killers would be brought to justice, under the next government of Russia if not the current one.
The
assassination has spawned a flood of conspiracy theories. Nemtsov was
one of Putin's most outspoken critics, and many suspect the Kremlin of
either direct or indirect involvement. Putin has vowed to bring those
responsible to justice.
No one has yet
been arrested and authorities have put forward a number of theories,
including that the murder was an act of "provocation" intended to
destabilize Russia, that it was connected to the conflict in Ukraine,
that Islamist extremists were involved or that it was linked to his
international business affairs.
The
Moscow Investigative Committee said in a statement on its website
Tuesday that "all scenarios" are being considered and that it is taking
all necessary steps.
"Eyewitness are
being questioned, CCTV footage is already being analyzed. Evidence has
been collected. A number of tests were carried out -- among them are
ballistic, medical examination and trace evidence," it said.
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