[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 4, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1307-S1308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 96--CONDEMNING THE MURDER OF BORIS NEMTSOV, AND FOR 
                             OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. McCAIN (for himself and Mr. Graham) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 96

       Whereas, on February 27, 2015, Russian opposition leader 
     and former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov was brutally 
     murdered in the shadow of the Kremlin in Russia's capitol 
     city Moscow;
       Whereas Mr. Nemtsov was a man of conviction and principle 
     who dedicated his life to the fight against corruption in 
     Russia and sought to advance democracy, human rights, free 
     speech, free market reforms, and the rule of law throughout 
     his life;
       Whereas, in December 2011, Mr. Nemtsov helped mobilize the 
     largest anti-Kremlin demonstrations since the early 1990's, 
     leading tens of thousands of Russians to march in protest of 
     widespread fraud and corruption in the parliamentary 
     elections;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation responded 
     by passing a series of harsh laws that vastly expanded the 
     definition of treason, increased government control over the 
     media, and limited the scope and activities of opposition 
     parties and civil society organizations;
       Whereas Russian authorities exploit these laws for their 
     own political ends and use them to intimidate members of the 
     opposition, human rights activists, and others with whom they 
     disagree;
       Whereas Mr. Nemtsov strongly opposed these and other 
     repressive measures, and expressed concerns that President 
     Vladimir Putin's policies were threatening democracy and rule 
     of law in Russia;
       Whereas Mr. Nemtsov strongly criticized Russia's annexation 
     of Crimea and military

[[Page S1308]]

     activities in eastern Ukraine, blaming President Putin for a 
     ``mad, aggressive and deadly policy of war against Ukraine'' 
     and lying to the Russian people about this policy;
       Whereas Mr. Nemtsov had been investigating Russia's role in 
     Ukraine and was preparing to release an investigative report 
     conclusively proving the participation of the Russian Armed 
     Forces in the invasion of Ukraine and revealing the extent to 
     which the Government of the Russian Federation was involved;
       Whereas, prior to his death, Mr. Nemtsov planned to lead a 
     Spring March on March 1, 2015, to protest the Russian 
     military's presence in Ukraine;
       Whereas, on February 28, 2015, Ukrainian President Petro 
     Poroshenko stated that he believed Mr. Nemtsov had been 
     murdered because he planned to disclose this evidence of 
     Russia's involvement in Ukraine;
       Whereas President Putin called critics of his government 
     ``a fifth column'' and ``national traitors'', inviting 
     violent attacks upon them and sponsoring a campaign of 
     hatred, intimidation, and aggression;
       Whereas, on February 20, 2015, a new movement called Anti-
     Maidan marched freely through Moscow calling for violence 
     against this ``fifth column'', with signs naming Mr. Nemtsov 
     as an enemy of Russia;
       Whereas Mr. Nemtsov's colleagues stated that he was under 
     state surveillance shortly before his murder and he was 
     murdered in one of the most heavily-secured areas of Moscow, 
     suggesting the Government of Russia's culpability;
       Whereas other prominent figures in Russia who have 
     criticized President Putin and his government have also been 
     assassinated, including Vladimir Golovlyov, Yuri 
     Shchekochikhin, Anna Politkovskaya, Alexander Litvinenko, 
     Magomed Yevloyev, Stanslav Markelov, and Natalia Estermirova;
       Whereas none of the individuals responsible for these 
     assassinations have been brought to justice, raising serious 
     questions about the ability of Russian authorities to conduct 
     a credible investigation into Mr. Nemtsov's murder;
       Whereas a culture of impunity and lack of accountability 
     prevail in Putin's Russia, with law enforcement, judicial, 
     and investigative bodies often used to target political 
     opponents and civil society, and thus lacking credibility to 
     conduct an investigation themselves;
       Whereas the Russia Investigative Committee released a list 
     of motives for Mr. Nemtsov's murder which do not take into 
     account his role as a prominent government critic, 
     surveillance cameras were allegedly turned off for 
     maintenance during the time of his murder, and Kremlin-
     sponsored channels are inciting fear and hatred by 
     propagating conspiracy theories that blame the United States 
     for his assassination;
       Whereas these continuing assassinations are intended to 
     intimidate the people of Russia and undermine political and 
     social reform in the Russian Federation; and
       Whereas support for rule of law and human rights in the 
     Russian Federation will help ensure its future as a free, 
     strong, and vibrant society and enduring stability in the 
     Russian Federation will come from an active civil society in 
     which democracy flourishes: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the courageous work of Boris Nemtsov, a 
     tireless advocate for reform and human rights who sacrificed 
     his life in the fight for freedom and democracy in the 
     Russian Federation;
       (2) expresses its deepest condolences to the family, 
     friends, and colleagues of Mr. Nemtsov, as well as to all the 
     people of Russia;
       (3) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the murder 
     of Boris Nemtsov on February 27, 2015, as well as the 
     assassinations of numerous other human rights and democracy 
     activists in the Russian Federation since President Vladimir 
     Putin came to office;
       (4) urges the President to seek a United Nations Security 
     Council resolution that establishes an independent 
     investigation into the assassination;
       (5) calls upon the Government of Russia to support and 
     facilitate an independent inquiry into the murder of Mr. 
     Nemtsov;
       (6) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to 
     release all political prisoners and to end the ongoing 
     harassment of political opponents, human rights activists, 
     and journalists;
       (7) calls for the restoration of an independent judiciary 
     and the rule of law in the Russian Federation, and an end to 
     all restrictions on the media and freedom of speech;
       (8) urges the President to add the names of persons that 
     Mr. Nemtsov requested be added to the visa ban list as 
     provided for under the Sergei Manitsky Rule of Law 
     Accountability Act of 2012 (title IV of Public Law 112-208) 
     and continue to sanction human rights violators in the 
     Russian Federation;
       (9) urges the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
     Europe (OSCE) to obtain, examine, and publish the 
     investigative report Mr. Nemtsov planned to release as part 
     of the OSCE observer role in eastern Ukraine to demonstrate 
     the inability of the Government of the Russian Federation to 
     suppress the truth Mr. Nemtsov represented; and
       (10) urges the President to significantly increase United 
     States Government support to like-minded partners and human 
     rights activists in the Russian Federation to create a more 
     vibrant civil society and open media environment in which 
     democracy can flourish.

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