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| Chechen Links Boris Nemtsov Killing to Charlie Hebdo Cartoons | Chechen Links Boris Nemtsov Killing to Charlie Hebdo Cartoons |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| MOSCOW — Ramzan A. Kadyrov, leader of the troubled southern Russian republic of Chechnya, linked the shooting death of a Kremlin critic to French cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad, comments that the victim’s associates dismissed on Monday as “nonsense.” | MOSCOW — Ramzan A. Kadyrov, leader of the troubled southern Russian republic of Chechnya, linked the shooting death of a Kremlin critic to French cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad, comments that the victim’s associates dismissed on Monday as “nonsense.” |
| Mr. Kadyrov, writing on his Instagram account, praised Zaur Dadayev, a former police officer charged in a Moscow court on Sunday in the killing. He wrote that he knew Mr. Dadayev personally as a devout Muslim infuriated by the anti-Muslim cartoons of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and by those who supported their publication. | Mr. Kadyrov, writing on his Instagram account, praised Zaur Dadayev, a former police officer charged in a Moscow court on Sunday in the killing. He wrote that he knew Mr. Dadayev personally as a devout Muslim infuriated by the anti-Muslim cartoons of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and by those who supported their publication. |
| “Anyone who knows Zaur confirms that he is a dedicated, deeply religious man, and that he, like all Muslims, was shocked by the actions of Charlie and comments in support of printing the cartoons,” wrote Mr. Kadyrov, who often uses Instagram to make public statements. | “Anyone who knows Zaur confirms that he is a dedicated, deeply religious man, and that he, like all Muslims, was shocked by the actions of Charlie and comments in support of printing the cartoons,” wrote Mr. Kadyrov, who often uses Instagram to make public statements. |
| The Chechen leader also described Mr. Dadayev as a “true patriot of Russia” who had been awarded medals for bravery in fighting Islamic insurgents. Mr. Dadayev left his position in an Interior Ministry battalion for reasons that Mr. Kadyrov said were unclear but would be investigated. | The Chechen leader also described Mr. Dadayev as a “true patriot of Russia” who had been awarded medals for bravery in fighting Islamic insurgents. Mr. Dadayev left his position in an Interior Ministry battalion for reasons that Mr. Kadyrov said were unclear but would be investigated. |
| Boris Y. Nemtsov, 55, a former first deputy prime minister in Russia who became an opposition leader, was shot in the back four times within sight of the Kremlin walls on Feb. 27 by a man who fled in a car driven by an accomplice. | |
| Although Mr. Nemtsov had defended the publication of the cartoons, his friends rejected that as a motivation for the killing, convinced that it was his harsh criticism of the Russian government that ultimately made him a target. Mr. Nemtsov had also criticized Mr. Kadyrov, most recently for parading his own private militia in Chechnya and vowing that his men could carry out any service for Russia. | Although Mr. Nemtsov had defended the publication of the cartoons, his friends rejected that as a motivation for the killing, convinced that it was his harsh criticism of the Russian government that ultimately made him a target. Mr. Nemtsov had also criticized Mr. Kadyrov, most recently for parading his own private militia in Chechnya and vowing that his men could carry out any service for Russia. |
| Ilya Yashin, a political ally of Mr. Nemtsov, dismissed the idea of any link to the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, stressing that the slain opposition figure had been tolerant of different faiths his whole life. | Ilya Yashin, a political ally of Mr. Nemtsov, dismissed the idea of any link to the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, stressing that the slain opposition figure had been tolerant of different faiths his whole life. |
| “Nemtsov never said a single bad word about Islam,” Mr. Yashin wrote on his Facebook page, noting that many public figures in Russia were even louder and harsher about the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices. Three Jihadists killed 17 people in Paris in January, including 12 members of the editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo. | “Nemtsov never said a single bad word about Islam,” Mr. Yashin wrote on his Facebook page, noting that many public figures in Russia were even louder and harsher about the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices. Three Jihadists killed 17 people in Paris in January, including 12 members of the editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo. |
| “It sounds like our worst fears are confirmed,” Mr. Yashin said. “The fall guy will be called to account, while the real contractors of Nemtsov’s murder will remain at large.” | “It sounds like our worst fears are confirmed,” Mr. Yashin said. “The fall guy will be called to account, while the real contractors of Nemtsov’s murder will remain at large.” |
| Many opposition activists suggested on Monday that blaming militant Islam for the killing was a convenient way to present the crime as solved quickly while deflecting attention away from the Kremlin. | Many opposition activists suggested on Monday that blaming militant Islam for the killing was a convenient way to present the crime as solved quickly while deflecting attention away from the Kremlin. |
| Vladimir Milov, a former deputy minister of energy and now an opposition politician, called the Islamic link “nonsense,” a common reaction. | Vladimir Milov, a former deputy minister of energy and now an opposition politician, called the Islamic link “nonsense,” a common reaction. |
| Writing in a blog post, Mr. Milov said that Mr. Kadyrov’s strict authority over Chechnya, and especially over the security services in which the prime suspect served, made it impossible that the suspects had acted on their own. “I don’t believe for a second that there could be such serious insubordination in the highly centralized system of Chechnya,” he wrote. | Writing in a blog post, Mr. Milov said that Mr. Kadyrov’s strict authority over Chechnya, and especially over the security services in which the prime suspect served, made it impossible that the suspects had acted on their own. “I don’t believe for a second that there could be such serious insubordination in the highly centralized system of Chechnya,” he wrote. |
| Some conservative nationalists who had repeatedly painted Mr. Nemtsov as a dangerous liberal also rejected the Islamist radical explanation as too pat. | Some conservative nationalists who had repeatedly painted Mr. Nemtsov as a dangerous liberal also rejected the Islamist radical explanation as too pat. |
| “Dadayev’s confession that he supposedly took revenge on Nemtsov for some kind of anti-Islamic speech is clearly a fake,” Dmitry Olshansky, a supporter of pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine, wrote on Facebook. The government likely concocted that explanation because it was easy to digest internationally, he said. | |
| Foreign liberals would probably prefer blaming a separatist, he said, “a rebel from Novorossiya” — the nationalist term for southeastern Ukraine. | Foreign liberals would probably prefer blaming a separatist, he said, “a rebel from Novorossiya” — the nationalist term for southeastern Ukraine. |
| Russia has been fighting the most recent Islamic insurgency in Chechnya since 1994. As president of the republic, Mr. Kadyrov has been given a free hand there by the Kremlin, and he runs it using a mix of Stalinism, Sufi Islam and Chechen nationalism. | Russia has been fighting the most recent Islamic insurgency in Chechnya since 1994. As president of the republic, Mr. Kadyrov has been given a free hand there by the Kremlin, and he runs it using a mix of Stalinism, Sufi Islam and Chechen nationalism. |
| Human rights groups have frequently criticized Mr. Kadyrov for violence against dissidents, including abducting and killing them. | Human rights groups have frequently criticized Mr. Kadyrov for violence against dissidents, including abducting and killing them. |
| But Mr. Putin has repeatedly defended Mr. Kadyrov and on Monday bestowed on him another state award, the Order of Honor, given in recognition of achievements in public life, according to the Kremlin website. | But Mr. Putin has repeatedly defended Mr. Kadyrov and on Monday bestowed on him another state award, the Order of Honor, given in recognition of achievements in public life, according to the Kremlin website. |
| The honors list also included a medal for “services to the fatherland” to Andrei K. Lugovoi for his work in Parliament, where he is now a member. Mr. Lugovoi has denied accusations in Britain that he helped fatally poison the Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 by using radioactive polonium. | The honors list also included a medal for “services to the fatherland” to Andrei K. Lugovoi for his work in Parliament, where he is now a member. Mr. Lugovoi has denied accusations in Britain that he helped fatally poison the Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 by using radioactive polonium. |
| Five men from the Northern Caucasus were jailed on Sunday in Mr. Nemtsov’s death, with two charged in connection with the killing and the others held as possible accomplices. | |
| State-run news agencies quoted Judge Natalia Mushnikova of Basmanny District Court as saying that Mr. Dadayev had confessed to involvement in the killing and that other evidence confirmed his participation. | State-run news agencies quoted Judge Natalia Mushnikova of Basmanny District Court as saying that Mr. Dadayev had confessed to involvement in the killing and that other evidence confirmed his participation. |
| But neither the court nor the senior officials working on the case have revealed a coherent picture so far, including the roles played by the suspect nor any official account of a motive. | But neither the court nor the senior officials working on the case have revealed a coherent picture so far, including the roles played by the suspect nor any official account of a motive. |
| The major question for Russians is who ordered the brazen assassination of Mr. Nemtsov, in one of the most heavily guarded districts in the capital. Opposition figures have accused the government of complicity. | The major question for Russians is who ordered the brazen assassination of Mr. Nemtsov, in one of the most heavily guarded districts in the capital. Opposition figures have accused the government of complicity. |
| The Kremlin denied the allegations and initially blamed “provocateurs” determined to smear the government. President Vladimir V. Putin later said it was politically motivated. | The Kremlin denied the allegations and initially blamed “provocateurs” determined to smear the government. President Vladimir V. Putin later said it was politically motivated. |
| Besides the five now jailed, a sixth suspect blew himself up with a hand grenade on Saturday night as the police closed in on his apartment in the southern city of Grozny, the capital of the Republic of Chechnya, the Interfax news agency reported. | Besides the five now jailed, a sixth suspect blew himself up with a hand grenade on Saturday night as the police closed in on his apartment in the southern city of Grozny, the capital of the Republic of Chechnya, the Interfax news agency reported. |
| Mr. Kadyrov, in his Instagram posting, seemed to refer to the death, praising a man he identified as Beslan Shavanov as a “brave warrior.” There were no details in the posting, except that Mr. Kadyrov wrote Mr. Shavanov had “perished the previous day during an attempt to detain him.” | Mr. Kadyrov, in his Instagram posting, seemed to refer to the death, praising a man he identified as Beslan Shavanov as a “brave warrior.” There were no details in the posting, except that Mr. Kadyrov wrote Mr. Shavanov had “perished the previous day during an attempt to detain him.” |