Opposition condemns killing of Boris Nemtsov, outspoken Putin critic

Putin quickly condemned the killing and expressed his condolences to his family. He also ordered three law enforcement agencies to investigate the shooting, Russian state news agency Tass reported.

A criminal case has been opened for murder and weapons trafficking, an investigative committee said.

Nemtsov was a top official with the Republican Party of Russia/Party of People’s Freedom, a liberal opposition group. He had most recently been critical of the Kremlin’s handling of the Ukraine crisis.

Opposition leader Ilya Yashin said his friend had been working on a report about Russian troops and their involvement in Ukraine.

Fired on from a car

His death comes two days before a large opposition rally was set to take place in Moscow. Hours before his death Friday, Nemtsov had done a radio interview putting out the call to people to turn out for the rally Sunday.

After his death, party leaders held a mourning march in downtown Moscow, Tass reported.

Nemtsov was walking with a female friend just before midnight across a bridge near the Kremlin when a car pulled up and someone opened fire.

The area in the center city is normally busy on a Friday night, though the weather was cold and wet.

“Nemtsov was a tireless advocate for his country, seeking for his fellow Russian citizens the rights to which all people are entitled. I admired Nemtsov’s courageous dedication to the struggle against corruption in Russia and appreciated his willingness to share his candid views with me when we met in Moscow in 2009,” Obama said in a written statement from the White House.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Saturday “it is hard to believe” that Nemtsov was killed. “I have no doubt that the murderers will be brought to justice. Sooner or later. Rest in peace,” Poroshenko said via Twitter.

French President Francois Hollande condemned the murder of the man he described as “a courageous and tireless defender of democracy and a fierce fighter against corruption.”

Fierce critic

Baker, who also is a New York Times reporter, told CNN that Nemtsov used to be powerful but had been marginalized since Putin was elected.

“He was a person who had been fierce in his criticism of Putin. He’d clearly gotten under Putin’s skin on a number of occasions. A number of people had become his enemies,” Baker said. “There’s a culture of suspicion and conspiracy in Russia, so even if in fact this had nothing to do with authority, nothing to do with a power element, a good number of people in Russia and around the world will find this suspicious.”

Baker said Nemtsov tried to work with Putin’s regime at first but soon switched to the opposition.

CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen and Alla Eshchenko reported from Moscow. CNN’s Steve Almasy wrote and reported from Atlanta. CNN’s Gena Somra, Ralph Ellis, Alla Eshchenko and Jo Shelley contributed to this report.

CNN