58 Facts About Boris Nemtsov

Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov was a Russian physicist, liberal politician, and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin.

Boris Nemtsov was a member of the Congress of People's Deputies, Federation Council and State Duma.

Boris Nemtsov criticized Putin's government as an increasingly authoritarian, undemocratic regime, highlighting widespread embezzlement and profiteering ahead of the Sochi Olympics, and Russian political interference and military involvement in Ukraine.

Boris Nemtsov was assassinated on 27 February 2015, beside his Ukrainian partner Anna Durytska, on a bridge near the Kremlin in Moscow, with four shots fired from the back.

Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov was born in Sochi in 1959 to Yefim Davidovich Nemtsov and Dina Yakovlevna Nemtsova.

Boris Nemtsov's parents divorced when he was five years old.

Boris Nemtsov found out about his baptism many years later.

From 1976 to 1981, Boris Nemtsov studied physics at State University of Gorky in the city of Gorky, receiving a degree in 1981.

Boris Nemtsov proposed a theoretical model for an acoustic laser and a novel design of antennas for space probes.

In 1989, Boris Nemtsov unsuccessfully ran for the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies on a reform platform which for the time was quite radical, promoting ideas such as multiparty democracy and private enterprise.

Boris Nemtsov was re-elected to that position by popular vote in December 1995.

Boris Nemtsov's tenure was marked by a wide-ranging, chaotic free market reform program nicknamed "Laboratory of Reform" for Nizhny Novgorod and resulted in significant economic growth for the region.

Boris Nemtsov's reforms won praise from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who visited Nizhny Novgorod in 1993.

Boris Nemtsov, Schmemann observed, adopted the westernized title "Governor" rather than the Russian "Head of Administration".

In December 1993, Boris Nemtsov was elected to the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian Parliament.

In 1996, Boris Nemtsov brought Yeltsin a petition with one million signatures against the First Chechen War, which he had signed himself.

In March 1997, Boris Nemtsov was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, with special responsibility for reform of the energy sector.

Boris Nemtsov was tasked with restructuring the monopolies and reforming the housing and social sectors.

Boris Nemtsov became popular with the public and appeared favoured to become President of Russia in 2000.

Boris Nemtsov Yeltsin introduced him to Bill Clinton as his chosen successor.

Boris Nemtsov had worked in Moscow's "White House" for only a year and a half, although he stated he had some success.

Boris Nemtsov ended the corrupt act of stashing budget funds in commercial banks.

Boris Nemtsov managed to introduce an anti-corruption law for all state purchases in the government.

Boris Nemtsov helped to end the illegal export of raw materials and made oil sales more transparent.

Boris Nemtsov himself was elected to the State Duma, or lower house of Parliament, and became its Deputy Speaker in February 2000.

In May 2000, Sergei Kiriyenko resigned and Boris Nemtsov was elected leader of the party and its parliamentary group.

Boris Nemtsov did not take part in the negotiations and later said that Putin had ordered him not to go.

Boris Nemtsov became Chairman of the Council of Directors of Neftianoi, an oil company, and a political advisor to Ukrainian president Viktor Yuschenko.

In January 2004, Nemtsov co-authored an article in Nezavisimaya Gazeta entitled "Appeal to the Putinist Majority", with his longtime adviser and party colleague Vladimir V Kara-Murza.

In February 2004, Boris Nemtsov was appointed as a director of the Neftyanoi Bank, and as Chairman of Neftyanoi Concern, an oil firm and the bank's parent company.

Boris Nemtsov subsequently stepped down from both his positions, saying that he wanted to minimize political fallout for the bank from his continuing involvement in Russian politics.

Boris Nemtsov alleged that his bank perhaps was targeted because of his friendship and support of former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who had stated his intention to run for president in 2008.

Yushchenko's selection of Boris Nemtsov was controversial owing to Boris Nemtsov's vocal criticism of Putin.

Boris Nemtsov was briefly a candidate for the presidency of Russia in the 2008 election.

On 26 December 2007, Boris Nemtsov withdrew his candidacy for the 2008 election, saying that he did not want to draw votes away from the other candidate of the "democratic opposition", Mikhail Kasyanov.

Boris Nemtsov said he was no longer running partly because of a belief that the government had predetermined the election's winner.

At a Solidarnost meeting on 12 March 2009, Boris Nemtsov announced that he would run for mayor of Sochi in the city's 26 April election.

Boris Nemtsov believed it was this criticism which led Nashi members to attack him with ammonium chloride on 23 March 2009.

Boris Nemtsov was among the 34 original signatories of the online anti-Putin manifesto "Putin must go", published on 10 March 2010.

Six months later, in September 2010, together with Vladimir Ryzhkov, Mikhail Kasyanov and Vladimir Milov, Boris Nemtsov formed the "For Russia without Lawlessness and Corruption" party, which, three months later was transformed into the People's Freedom Party.

Boris Nemtsov had befriended Michael McFaul, probably at some point before the latter was named US Ambassador to Russia in December 2011.

Ambassador McFaul reminisces the Boris Nemtsov told him that the best way for Putin to be stopped was to help Ukraine adopt Western values, because then Putin's argument, that all Slavic people were similar and doomed to succumb to autocratic rule, would be falsified and Putin would inevitably fall.

Boris Nemtsov accused the Putin administration of cronyism and embezzlement of funds on a level so grand it posed a threat to Russian national security.

Boris Nemtsov was arrested on 25 November 2007 during an unauthorized protest against President Putin near the State Hermitage Museum.

Boris Nemtsov was sentenced on 2 January 2011 to 15 days in jail.

Boris Nemtsov was charged with disobeying the police and swearing, despite video footage that showed him asking the police to 'calm down'.

Boris Nemtsov used the nightmare of Beslan to remove democratic elections of regional governors.

In December 2013, Boris Nemtsov said on behalf of his party:.

Boris Nemtsov condemned the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine:.

Boris Nemtsov was among the few Russian statesmen to vocally oppose the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

Boris Nemtsov stated that he viewed Crimea as an integral part of Ukraine, that he considered its annexation by the Russian Federation to be illegal, and that the people of Crimea and not Russian legislators should decide which country they want to live in.

Boris Nemtsov added that his mother was afraid for oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny.

Two weeks prior to his assassination, Boris Nemtsov had met "with an old friend", Yevgenia Albats, editor of The New Times magazine, to discuss his research into Putin's role in the Ukraine conflict.

Albats said that Boris Nemtsov "was afraid of being killed", adding:.

Just before midnight, at 23:31 local time on 27 February 2015, Boris Nemtsov was shot several times from behind.

Boris Nemtsov was crossing the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge in Moscow, close to the Kremlin walls and Red Square.

Boris Nemtsov was murdered less than two days before he was due to take part in a peace rally against Russian involvement in the war in Ukraine and the financial crisis in Russia.

Russian journalist Ksenia Sobchak said that Boris Nemtsov had been preparing a report proving the presence of Russian military in eastern Ukraine despite official denials.