Russian Duma refuses to honor murdered opposition leader

MOSCOW, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- State Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov expressed outrage that the Duma refused to honor the one-year anniversary of the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead on the Moscow River Bridge last year.

"This issue is not politics, this is a question of ethics and the human relationship to the person who worked in the State Duma," Gudkov said, as reported by Russian news agency Rosbalt.

Duma Speaker Alexei Naryshkin said the Duma only holds moments of silence for people who are honored by the nation's president. Since Russia's President Vladimir Putin did not declare a day of remembrance, neither can the Duma honor the minute of silence for Nemtsov, Naryshkin said.

Moscow City Hall did agree to allow a parade and march on Saturday afternoon with an expected attendance of 50,000 people, reports Interfax.

Two men, Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadaev, are still under investigation for the murder of Nemtsov, which took place hours after the Duma deputy asked the public to support a march against Russia's war in Ukraine.

Nemtsov was also reportedly working on a report on Russia's involvement in Ukraine at the time of his murder. His daughter, Zhanna Nemtsova, told the Guardian in 2015 that her father told her Russian troops are unofficially involved in Ukraine; that they officially resign from the Russian army, and then, on orders, go to Ukraine to fight.