Kremlin Murder Trail Leads to Chechnya
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, center, speaks to Chechen top commanders while inspecting Chechen special forces in Grozny, Russia, on Dec. 28, 2014.
Photographer: Musa Sadulayev/AP PhotoAll roads in Russia’s investigation into the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov so far lead to Chechnya, where a strongman groomed by President Vladimir Putin is becoming increasingly difficult to control.
The main suspect in the Feb. 27 assassination was the deputy head of an elite police unit loyal to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, the former separatist leader Putin picked in 2007 to eradicate extremists in the North Caucasus region after two disastrous wars. Kadyrov, 38, praised the suspect after his arrest as a “real Russian patriot” and suggested he wasn’t guilty, challenging the official line.