,,iii  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #if  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of
 ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,march #d1    
#bjae ,mr4 ,mc,cain 7for himself and    
,mr4 ,graham7 submitted the following   
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,relations       
,,resolution  ,condemning the murder of 
,boris ,nemtsov1 and for other purposes4
  ,whereas1 on ,february #bg1 #bjae1    
,russian opposition leader and former   
deputy prime minister ,boris ,nemtsov   
was brutally murdered in the shadow of  
the ,kremlin in ,russia's capitol city  
,moscow2 ,whereas ,mr4 ,nemtsov was a   
man of conviction and principle who     
dedicated his life to the fight against 
corruption in ,russia and sought to     
advance democracy1 human rights1 free   
speech1 free market reforms1 and the    
rule of law throughout his life2        
,whereas in ,december #bjaa1 ,mr4       
,nemtsov helped mobilize the largest    
anti-,kremlin demonstrations since the  
early #aiijs1 leading tens of thousands 

of ,russians to march in protest of     
widespread fraud and corruption in the  
parliamentary elections2 ,whereas the   
,government of the ,russian ,federation 
responded by passing a series of harsh  
laws that vastly expanded the definition
 of treason1 increased government       
control over the media1 and limited the 
scope and activities of opposition      
parties and civil society organizations2
 ,whereas ,russian authorities exploit  
these laws for their own political ends 
and use them to intimidate members of   
the opposition1 human rights activists1 
and others with whom they disagree2     
,whereas ,mr4 ,nemtsov strongly opposed 
these and other repressive measures1 and
 expressed concerns that ,president     
,vladimir ,putin's policies were        
threatening democracy and rule of law in
 ,russia2 ,whereas ,mr4 ,nemtsov        
strongly criticized ,russia's annexation
 of ,crimea and military activities in  
eastern ,ukraine1 blaming ,president    
,putin for a mad1 aggressive and deadly 

policy of war against ,ukraine and lying
 to the ,russian people about this      
policy2 ,whereas ,mr4 ,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 involved2 ,whereas1     
prior to his death1 ,mr4 ,nemtsov       
planned to lead a ,spring ,march on     
,march #a1 #bjae1 to protest the        
,russian military's presence in         
,ukraine2 ,whereas1 on ,february #bh1   
#bjae1 ,ukrainian ,president ,petro     
,poroshenko stated that he believed ,mr4
 ,nemtsov had been murdered because he  
planned to disclose this evidence of    
,russia's involvement in ,ukraine2      
,whereas ,president ,putin called       
critics of his government a fifth column
 and national traitors1 inviting violent
 attacks upon them and sponsoring a     

campaign of hatred1 intimidation1 and   
aggression2 ,whereas1 on ,february #bj1 
#bjae1 a new movement called            
,anti-,maidan marched freely through    
,moscow calling for violence against    
this fifth column1 with signs naming    
,mr4 ,nemtsov as an enemy of ,russia2   
,whereas ,mr4 ,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 ,moscow1       
suggesting the ,government of ,russia's 
culpability2 ,whereas other prominent   
figures in ,russia who have criticized  
,president ,putin and his government    
have also been assassinated1 including  
,vladimir ,golovlyov1 ,yuri             
,shchekochikhin1 ,anna ,politkovskaya1  
,alexander ,litvinenko1 ,magomed        
,yevloyev1 ,stanslav ,markelov1 and     
,natalia ,estermirova2 ,whereas none of 
the individuals responsible for these   
assassinations have been brought to     
justice1 raising serious questions about

 the ability of ,russian authorities to 
conduct a credible investigation into   
,mr4 ,nemtsov's murder2 ,whereas a      
culture of impunity and lack of         
accountability prevail in ,putin's      
,russia1 with law enforcement1 judicial1
 and investigative bodies often used to 
target political opponents and civil    
society1 and thus lacking credibility to
 conduct an investigation themselves2   
,whereas the ,russia ,investigative     
,committee released a list of motives   
for ,mr4 ,nemtsov's murder which do not 
take into account his role as a         
prominent government critic1            
surveillance cameras were allegedly     
turned off for maintenance during the   
time of his murder1 and                 
,kremlin-sponsored channels are inciting
 fear and hatred by propagating         
conspiracy theories that blame the      
,united ,states for his assassination2  
,whereas these continuing assassinations
 are intended to intimidate the people  
of ,russia and undermine political and  

social reform in the ,russian           
,federation2 and ,whereas support for   
rule of law and human rights in the     
,russian ,federation will help ensure   
its future as a free1 strong1 and       
vibrant society and enduring stability  
in the ,russian ,federation will come   
from an active civil society in which   
democracy flourishes3 ,now1 therefore1  
be it  ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7         
recognizes the courageous work of ,boris
 ,nemtsov1 a tireless advocate for      
reform and human rights who sacrificed  
his life in the fight for freedom and   
democracy in the ,russian ,federation2  
7#b7 expresses its deepest condolences  
to the family1 friends1 and colleagues  
of ,mr4 ,nemtsov1 as well as to all the 
people of ,russia2  7#c7 condemns1 in   
the strongest possible terms1 the murder
 of ,boris ,nemtsov on ,february #bg1   
#bjae1 as well as the assassinations of 
numerous other human rights and         
democracy activists in the ,russian     
,federation since ,president ,vladimir  

,putin came to office2  7#d7 urges the  
,president to seek a ,united ,nations   
,security ,council resolution that      
establishes an independent investigation
 into the assassination2  7#e7 calls    
upon the ,government of ,russia to      
support and facilitate an independent   
inquiry into the murder of ,mr4         
,nemtsov2  7#f7 urges the ,government of
 the ,russian ,federation to release all
 political prisoners and to end the     
ongoing harassment of political         
opponents1 human rights activists1 and  
journalists2  7#g7 calls for the        
restoration of an independent judiciary 
and the rule of law in the ,russian     
,federation1 and an end to all          
restrictions on the media and freedom of
 speech2  7#h7 urges the ,president to  
add the names of persons that ,mr4      
,nemtsov requested be added to the visa 
ban list as provided for under the      
,sergei ,manitsky ,rule of ,law         
,accountability ,act of #bjab 7title    
,,iv of ,public ,law #aab-bjh7 and      

continue to sanction human rights       
violators in the ,russian ,federation2  
7#i7 urges the ,organization for        
,security and ,cooperation in ,europe   
7,,osce7 to obtain1 examine1 and publish
 the investigative report ,mr4 ,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 ,mr4 ,nemtsov     
represented2 and  7#aj7 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 flourish4