While she continues to wait for justice for the murder of her father, Boris Nemtsov, which occurred on February 27, 2015 when he was walking near the Kremlin, Zhanna Nemtsova works at the foundation she created eight years ago in Germany to preserve the political legacy of one of the opponents. most respected Russians of the last decades. Nemtsova speaks to La Vanguardia via Zoom from Prague, where she has created the two-year master’s degree “Russian Studies (Boris Nemtsov Educational Program)” at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. She admits that in Europe there is “distrust” in general towards the Russians, but assures that “Europeans are supporting various initiatives, they support the media.” It also allows mobility, a field in which Spain was the leader in 2022 with 25.5% of Shenghen visas granted to Russian citizens. Nemtsova says that today one cannot speak of opposition in Russia, but of resistance against the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. She admits to embarrassment that lately it seems that the only thing she associates Russia with is Putin and Prigozhin, whose recent deaths didn’t surprise her at all.
Five people were convicted of the murder of his father. But you have always said that the real culprits have not been arrested. Do you hope that it will ever be caught or known for sure who ordered or commissioned the murder?
There are two main problems with this investigation: for some reason the group that investigated my father’s murder was unable to establish the motives for his murder, despite the fact that it was clearly a political assassination. At the time he was killed he was a sitting deputy of the Yaroslavl Oblast Duma. Secondly, it was even established who was suspected of organizing it at a lower level, Ruslan Guereméyev. But they never questioned him, they didn’t really look for him. And the same goes for who he commissioned the murder.
Who could be behind?
In Russia there were people interested in getting rid of Boris Nemtsov. Of course, they were people of power. Before, I couldn’t speak for sure about Putin’s involvement. But now I have no doubt. This is related to the Ukrainian war. Because my father was a friend from Ukraine. I remember that at the end of 2004 or the beginning of 2005, he participated in the orange revolution. He was not at the EuroMaidan (2013-2014), because (the then president) Yanukovych did not allow him to enter the country. He was against the annexation of Crimea and the Donbass war. He called things by his name, organized rallies with thousands of people in Moscow against the war. It was surprising that in Moscow 50,000 people turned out for an anti-war demonstration in 2014. And he understood where Putin was going quite early, while everyone else was sleeping. That is why after his death his report “Putin. War” was published. That is why I believe that his murder is related to Ukraine, because being a highly respected politician in Russia, in principle, he could have mobilized public opinion.
The European Court of Human Rights said last July that the investigation was not effective.
It’s been a long time since I submitted the statement asking that the investigation be declared ineffective, and I recently won it. But since March 2022, after the start of the full-scale war, Russia has not complied with the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. But I started these cases because it’s important for the future. I believe that justice should be established, that these cases can and should be opened.
After the assassination, you left Russia and created the Boris Nemtsov Foundation.
Until my father’s murder, I did not consider dedicating myself to social activity. Then I felt that it was immoral to pretend nothing had happened, to keep quiet about the investigation, not to help the Russian resistance, people who want to receive a quality education. Besides, I wanted to preserve my father’s political legacy. In Russian history there are reformers, but liberal reformers have never succeeded, and in general in Russia there are few politicians with a certain legacy. The problem in Russia is that there are politicians who were from Yabloko and now from United Russia, or communists who are now Putinists. There are no politicians who have not changed their principles. Nemtsov is an exception. He was absolutely consistent, he always defended his convictions.
In which European countries does the foundation have projects?
The Nemtsov Foundation is registered in Germany. We carry out our projects in Germany and the Czech Republic. However, I would like to work in Spain with universities in the framework of our educational projects. It is necessary to study Russia, and to study it in a new way. A critical view of the entire history of Russia and of the history of Russia after the collapse of the USSR must prevail.
Is the dialogue of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples possible?
Every year of the war the mistrust of the Ukrainians even towards the Russians who are against the war has grown very strong. With the Russians who support the war there is no dialogue of any kind, of course. Ukrainians go out of their way to have a nice conversation with you, but that’s just niceness, not sympathy. There are no close contacts. In the case of Europe, practically the same thing happens. There is great distrust, in some countries more, in others less. There are countries where the policy towards Russians is more restrictive, such as the Czech Republic. In Spain it is a bit different. Despite this, the Europeans are supporting the Russian anti-war resistance, they support various initiatives, they support the media. But Europeans, Americans and Ukrainians thought that public opinion in Russia could be influenced, that independent media could influence public opinion. And that didn’t happen. And now the Europeans and the Americans are wondering if it is worth continuing to support. If Russian public opinion consolidates around the war, even a position of neutrality – neither against nor for the war – will be very beneficial to Putin.
In your opinion, would it be possible for this relationship to improve if the war, even if it doesn’t end, becomes a frozen conflict?
The war for Putin is beneficial because it allows him to stay in power. He has nothing else to propose so that people stay mobilized. I would say that people do not even think about a change of power, and he does not wonder about the bad economic situation and social problems. With Putin there is not going to be any kind of frozen conflict. Furthermore, as long as there is a piece of Ukrainian land controlled by Putin there will be war. That is my position and I think the position of many Ukrainians.
What remains of the opposition in Russia?
The main anti-war opposition inside Russia is in jail. Alexei Navalny, Iliá Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murzá, Alexei Górinov and hundreds of other people, simple anti-war people. A large number of people have suffered, who were not involved in politics, because simply at the beginning of this large-scale war they could not keep quiet. The Nemtsov Foundation also awards the Nemtsov Prizes, for the defense of democratic values. This year it has been granted to political prisoners convicted or awaiting sentence. There are five totally different people, who have no relationship with politics: the director of a restaurant car, Mikhail Simonov, sentenced to 7 years in prison for various comments on social networks; journalist María Ponomarienko; the youngest of the anti-war figures Maxim Lipkan, 18; to Vladimir Rumiantsev, a stoker from Vologda, a radio amateur who through this medium transmitted podcasts from the Meduza medium. Nobody listens to that radio, except the FSB! Komi history teacher Nikita Tuchkanov. So in prison there are not only known people.
The award last year went to Zelenski. Could the Ukrainian president be an example for the Russians?
The Nemtsov Foundation, its founders and the Nemtsov Foundation board awarded the prize to Zelensky for his courage in defending democratic values. We do not give the prize for the past or for the future, because people change. We give it at a certain time and place. Last year Zelensky showed great courage by staying in the country that Russia had attacked. In addition, he played a key role in convincing Europe and the United States of the need to give Ukraine military aid. And we are also talking about democratic values, because they are the right to independence and sovereignty.
In the absence of a democratic opposition in Russia, another opposition to the Kremlin now appears, which is more radical, the one that bets on war and criticizes power.
They are nationalist, imperialist people, also with liberal tendencies, but as soon as they are out of the control of power they are considered enemies. Those are not opposition, they are simply different currents.
What did you think when you learned about the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group?
I am honestly embarrassed when, knowing that I am from Russia, they ask me about Prigozhin. A criminal from St. Petersburg is what is best known about Russia. The only thing we have produced in these years is Putin and Prigozhin. What does that tell us about Russia? That Russia is a criminal country, that it is a criminal regime, very closed, not at all transparent, it is not understood what happens inside, how it is built, how it works. When I found out about the death of Prigozhin, the murder of him, I was not surprised. And it seems to me that the same thing happened to the rest, because he decided to march on Moscow, he demonstrated his disloyalty towards Putin and it was obvious that they were going to catch him. And so it happened. Everyone expected it.
Can there be hope for Russia?
Hope and Russia with antonymous words. From my point of view, a fracture is taking place between those who remain and those who have left. Those who have remained in Russia have little trust in those who have left, and the longer that gap passes, the greater it will be, and thus the influence over those who remain diminishes. Because they do not feel what is happening, in the distance it is difficult to understand. You live in another country and you begin to integrate into it, you begin to live another life. and that also happens with the media outside, which can lose their audience because they do not understand and do not feel what is important to those who live in Russia. The time factor is also important. Two years out may not matter, but ten years is a big gap. What role did the diaspora of the early 20th century play in the perestroika of the 1980s? Well none. The influence of foreign emigration will diminish over the years while Putin is in power.
Can an internal movement against power in Russia be formed, despite everything?
I don’t believe it. First of all, if we look at the statistics and according to any political scientist, a totalitarian regime collapses most of the time as a consequence of a conflict within the elite, and less frequently due to mass protests against the leader. I do not see the first, the split in the elite, nor the second. The only cause may be the end of the Putin era due to natural causes. The problem that arises then is what will come next. Many times we focus on power and wonder why we have this power. The answer is because we have this society: conservative, imperialist, with national pride, without a civic education. You have to stop talking about power and start talking about society. The end of the Putin regime will not be the beginning of something, but the possibility of doing something, and a bright future will not automatically appear. In today’s society, propaganda unfortunately works both among the less educated population and among the more educated. From my point of view, the fact that after the USSR the focus was not placed on a massive civic education of society allowed people to later elect Putin, a former KGB agent. For this reason the Nemtsov Foundation is dedicated to people.
My last question is of a personal nature. Do you make plans to return to Russia?
I have already lived eight years outside of Russia. My philosophy of life is that you cannot make plans to return to Russia. It is a conception that leads you to depression. You have to live here and now, in the country where you live. I don’t rule it out, but I reject what they say about “Moscow is my dream.” For me it is not a dream. It cannot be, because after 2015 there is no longer Moscow for me, because my father was killed there. In relation to Russia there is no romanticism in me. But considering that I have created the Boris Nemtsov Foundation and have accumulated a lot of experience, I can do practical things for my country in education or in other fields.
