Putin and Nemtsov

Assuming Russian President Vladimir Putin is not stupid enough to be involved with the murder of one of the few high-profile opponents who hasn’t been driven off the political stage, the picture of Boris Nemtsov’s body framed by St. Basil’s Cathedral and the brightly lit Kremlin wall captures the state of Russian political freedom.

Regardless of Putin’s and his government’s direct responsibility, a decade of Kremlin-led political repression, now joined with a war fervor, which labels all dissidents as traitors and representatives of foreign agents, has all but ended political liberties in Russia.