“We believe that in order to gain stability in this country and overcome this crisis, important political changes are needed. Namely, it is important to hold an honest election, with opposition parties naturally taking part, and to abolish censorship, in order to stop the propaganda of lies which turns the mentality of the Russian people upside down. The main reason for the crisis is that Vladimir Putin started this insane policy of war with Ukraine, which is aggressive and murderous for our country and for too many of our citizens. The presence of Russian troops in Ukraine is well-documented. Let’s just imagine a public debate between me and Putin. I would start with a very simple question. Why are the Russian soldiers being killed while you, Mr. Putin, being the commander-in-chief, disown those soldiers? We see the graves of those soldiers in Kostroma, Pskov, Nizhny Novgorod, where I once was a governor. Why, being the commander-in-chief, do you disown those soldiers? How dare you remain commander-in-chief after that? We need political reform in this country. When all the political power is concentrated in the hands of one person and when that person rules eternally, it all ends with an absolute catastrophe. The main question people ask us is: ‘You are inviting us to join the march. If we come, what will change?’ I answer: ‘If a lot of people come, something will change.’ I don’t want to lie. Putin is our expert in lying. He is a pathological liar. I don’t want to lie to you. I want to tell you the truth. That march can sober up the Kremlin. Gradually, not with the help of just a single march. We can change the political course.”
Boris Nemtsov: ‘Putin is a pathological liar’
A woman holds 'Confessions of the Rebel,' a book authored by Boris Nemtsov, as she attends a funeral ceremony for the slain opposition in Moscow on March 3. Nemtsov was assassinated near Red Square on Feb. 27.
Editor’s Note: This is an English-language translation of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov’s final interview with Ekho Moskvy radio station only hours before he was gunned down within 200 meters of the Kremlin’s Red Square late on Feb. 27.
