On February 27, 2015, the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was murdered in the streets of Moscow. He was a founder of the Russian opposition party Solidarity and one of the most visible and active critics of the Russian regime.
Nemtsov had visited the Stockholm Free World Forum many times before. In November 2011 he participated in the launch of “Ten Years With Putin”, the only text of his that has been translated into Swedish (Frivärld/Timbro Publishing House). The video of the launch is available to watch here. In May 2013 he was a speaker at the Stockholm Free World Forum’s annual security policy conference, and the video is available to watch here.
In order to honor the memory of Boris Nemtsov, the Stockholm Free World Forum and the Foundation for Free Enterprise has made his book “Ten Years With Putin” (in Swedish) available to download for free here.
Mats Johansson, the Stockholm Free World Forum’s chairman and founder, immediately commented on the events in Svenska Dagbladet’s blog Säkerhetsrådet:
”My friend Boris Nemtsov was murdered last night. Nemtsov was a powerful voice for the opposition in Russia. Even though we do not know exactly what happened yet, it is thought that he has paid the price that Anna Politkovskaja and many others have. […] As Boris Nemtsov’s publisher it was a pleasure to work with him. Nemtsov and I had met at conferences and I understood early on that he was a serious challenger to Putin, at the very least due to his personal courage and desire. Together with other dissidents he was able to assemble thinkers critical towards Russia in order to show that another Russia did exist, one that was not ruled by Putin”.
Katarina Tracz, the Stockholm Free World Forum’s director, made the following statement:
It is with great sorrow that we have received the news of Boris Nemtsov’s death. His murder is a painful reminder of how Putin’s authoritarian regime, in addition to stifling dissent, also causes the loss of human life. Our thoughts go out to the Nemtsov family as well as to all those fighting for democracy in Russia.
In “Ten Years With Putin” Boris Nemtsov and co-author Vladimir Milov paint a dark picture of recent developments in Russia. Corruption and criminality have increased at the same time as living conditions for many people have worsened, all while Putin maintains his grip on power.
For questions contact:
Katarina Tracz, director, Stockholm Free World Forum
tel: +46 0708 922 188
Mats Johansson, chairman and founder, Stockholm Free World Forum
tel: +46 070 242 80 22