Boris Nemtsov will soon be forgotten — Or will he?

The prospects of democracy in Russia just took another blow with the murder of Boris Nemtsov in Moscow last Friday. Whoever killed him, whoever the real instigators were or might be is shrouded in mystery forever. The unprofessional and hastily made statements by official investigators that the killing was carried out by amateurs are clumsy efforts to dispel the suspicion that the murder was indeed professionally planned and executed. The fact that the Russian president is “personally overseeing the investigation” makes it even more suspect that the Kremlin was involved. Naming an independent investigative committee, which would have included independents and the representatives of the opposition, maybe even experts from Denmark or Sweden, would have made a difference. But that is “not the way things happen in Russia,” as Bill Browder, the author of Red Notice, frequently says in his book about his former lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who was killed in prison for unearthing scandalous corruption by Russian authorities. Nemtsov, like Magnitsky, died for a better Russia.

{mosads}Nemtsov’s vision of a Russia which serves its people, one that is part of the solution and not part of the problem, is now further blurred. I don’t claim to have actually known him, having met him only once, a year and a half ago. We had a brief and interesting conversation. He was impressive and optimistic for the long run, but was terribly pessimistic in the short term as he warned about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s radicalized way of doing things. He spoke of the Russian president posing a danger to security in Europe, stating that Putin is exporting his style of governance to other parts of the continent. Sadly, Nemtsov mentioned my own country, Hungary, among those where Putin’s style was catching on. He was relentless in his critique of the Russian leader: the direction of destruction of his country and the political, economic and social disaster facing Russia. But he also made clear his belief that there is another Russia out there, one which should not be forgotten. A Russia which accepts the rule of law and the rules of democracy and transparency. He firmly believed that his own efforts and those of his fellow democrats will bear fruit.

Suddenly, now that he is gone, this lonely warrior for freedom has lots of friends in the West. The statements of solidarity and support for the dead man are beautiful, but essentially useless. One wonders if Nemtsov’s death will actually trigger a sense of reality, a process of rethinking by the U.S. and, perhaps more importantly, by European politicians about the way they do business with Putin. Why not be blunt and simply acknowledge that the Russian leader has blood on his hands? Nemtsov’s murder and the death of thousands of soldiers and civilians in eastern Ukraine send the same message: Putin will hold on to power, no matter what, and lives don’t count. We in the complacent West will move on in a matter of a few days. Nemtsov’s murder will be a standard in speeches in Washington, London and even Budapest. But will we also draw some serious conclusions?

Nemtsov’s murder will further scare and intimidate the opposition and political activists in Russia. But there will also be those who will still have the courage to speak up for democracy and human rights, to demonstrate on the streets of Moscow or St. Petersburg. Those who believe that the best days of Russia are yet to come, who see the people of Russia as being far more important for the future of the country than oil and gas reserves. Those who believe that the war in Ukraine is the sign of agony of a failed system and that one day Putin will be accountable for his actions.

This is a good moment for democracies in Europe and the United States to show that dignity and our commitment to human rights and values matter. We have this responsibility to ourselves, for the future of Russia and our own societies. I hope that the European Union will be represented on a very high level at the funeral. I hope that the U.S. ambassador to Russia will be there too.

In memory of Boris Nemtsov.

Ambassador Simonyi is the managing director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations (CTR) at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington. He is an economist by training and has a long career in the diplomatic service, where he has gained experience in both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. He has built an extensive network in the transatlantic community, his ambassadorial assignments having included NATO and Washington. He has also spent time in the private sector, and plays guitar in his band The Coalition of the Willing.