[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 32 (Monday, February 29, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S1088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 378--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
COURAGEOUS WORK AND LIFE OF RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER BORIS YEFIMOVICH 
NEMTSOV AND RENEWING THE CALL FOR A FULL AND TRANSPARENT INVESTIGATION 
    INTO THE TRAGIC MURDER OF BORIS YEFIMOVICH NEMTSOV IN MOSCOW ON 
                           FEBRUARY 27, 2015

  Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. 
McCain, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. Kaine) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 378

       Whereas February 27, 2016, marks the first anniversary of 
     the murder of former Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Boris 
     Yefimovich Nemtsov (referred to in this preamble as ``Dr. 
     Nemtsov'');
       Whereas Dr. Nemtsov dedicated his life to the causes of 
     freedom and human rights for the Russian people and sought to 
     reduce the corruption in the government of Russia;
       Whereas on February 27, 2015--
       (1) Dr. Nemtsov was murdered on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky 
     Bridge in Moscow in view of the Kremlin; and
       (2) President Obama called for a ``prompt, impartial, and 
     transparent'' investigation into the murder of Dr. Nemtsov;

       Whereas on March 1, 2015, tens of thousands of people 
     marched through central Moscow in remembrance of Dr. Nemtsov;
       Whereas the Russian courts and the Investigative Committee 
     of the Russian Federation have consistently rejected requests 
     to qualify the murder of Dr. Nemtsov under Article 277 of the 
     Russian Criminal Code as ``an attempt on the life of a public 
     statesman'';
       Whereas within 10 days of the murder of Dr. Nemtsov, 
     Chechen suspect Zaur Dadayev admitted to killing Dr. Nemtsov 
     at the behest of Ruslan Geremeyev, a senior officer in the 
     Sever Battalion of Chechnya;
       Whereas on March 8, 2015, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov 
     called Zaur Dadayev a ``true patriot'';
       Whereas on March 9, 2015, Mr. Kadryov was awarded the Order 
     of Honor by Russian President Vladimir Putin;
       Whereas on January 20, 2016, Aleksandr Bastrykin, the chief 
     of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation 
     responsible for investigating the murder of Dr. Nemtsov, 
     declared that the case had been fully solved;
       Whereas the Investigative Committee of the Russian 
     Federation charged only Ruslan Muhudinov, the driver of 
     Ruslan Geremeyev, with organizing the murder of Dr. Nemtsov;
       Whereas on May 26, 2015, Russian opposition activist 
     Vladimir Kara-Murza, a close friend and colleague of Dr. 
     Nemtsov, was severely poisoned by an unknown assailant, 
     resulting in multiple organ failures and a coma;
       Whereas on January 25, 2016, the daughter of Dr. Nemtsov, 
     Zhanna Nemtsova, appealed to the Parliamentary Assembly of 
     the Council of Europe to investigate the murder of her 
     father;
       Whereas on February 1, 2016, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov 
     posted a video on Instagram that shows Russian opposition 
     leaders Mikhail Kasyanov and Vladimir Kara-Murza through the 
     crosshairs of a sniper rifle accompanied by the comment, 
     ``Those who did not understand, will understand''; and
       Whereas the Russian Federation is a member of the 
     Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the 
     Council of Europe, which have the capacity to conduct a more 
     credible investigation: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the legacy of courageous Russian opposition 
     leader Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov, who dedicated his life to 
     fighting corruption and promoting the principles of 
     democracy, rule of law, and the inherent dignity of human 
     beings;
       (2) encourages the public release of all surveillance tapes 
     in the area surrounding the crime scene to aid in the 
     investigation;
       (3) urges the United States Government, in official 
     contacts with representatives of the Russian government, to 
     emphasize the importance of bringing to justice all of the 
     conspirators in the murder of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov; and
       (4) calls on the President to significantly increase United 
     States Government support for the causes for which Boris 
     Yefimovich Nemstov gave his life.

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