And as they march near the site of Nemtsov’s death, conspiracy theories swirl over who killed the 55-year-old outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin as he walked near the Kremlin with his Ukrainian model companion.
An about face
Russian authorities originally declined to issue a permit for the march when it was billed as an opposition rally. But they will allow the procession honoring Nemtsov on Sunday afternoon, People’s Freedom Party leader Mikhail Kasyanov said.
–
And before his death, Nemtsov had been arrested several times for speaking against Putin’s government.
The most recent arrests were in 2011, when he protested the results of parliamentary elections, and in 2012, when tens of thousands protested against Putin.
CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen and Alla Eshchenko reported from Moscow and Holly Yan wrote from Atlanta. CNN’s Laura Smith-Spark in London contributed to this report.
