February 27, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden today issued the following statement marking 10 years since the death of Boris Nemtsov.

“Today we remember Boris Nemtsov, a prominent Russian politician, anti-corruption activist and opposition leader who was brutally gunned down near the Kremlin on February 27, 2015, just hours after appealing to his compatriots to support a march against Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014. We remember Nemtsov’s vision for a democratic Russia and honor his courage for standing up against Vladimir Putin’s regime, which inspired many.

“During the last week of his life, Nemtsov was organizing a rally against Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine and was working on a report demonstrating that Russian troops were in eastern Ukraine. Earlier, he published a series of detailed reports on corruption in the Kremlin, linking them directly to Putin. Nemtsov’s pro-democracy and freedom activism, along with other prominent opposition figures, was perceived as a threat to the Kremlin. His murder, like the deaths of other opposition activists before and after him, should be investigated fully and in a transparent manner, to ensure that all those responsible and involved are fully held accountable.

“Ten years after, despite Putin’s unabated aggression abroad and an increasing repression at home, Nemtsov’s brave legacy lives on in the Magnitsky legislation worldwide, and in the voices of ordinary Russians who continue to fight for a democratic Russia and oppose the Kremlin’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.

“According to the UN Special Rapporteur, the lives of hundreds of political prisoners in Russia remain at grave risk unless they are immediately released. 

“Russian authorities must uphold their international obligations and release immediately and unconditionally all political prisoners.”