article_snippet: Moscow (CNN)Ever since Vladimir Putin came to power, there have been killings of politicians, of human rights activists, of journalists.
article_snippet: Boris Nemtsov, one of Russia's most prominent opposition figures, is only the latest victim.
article_snippet: Of course, Kremlin will issue condemnation and condolences, as Kremlin has done over the assassination of Boris Nemtsov.
article_snippet: But the killers and the people who ordered the killings don't usually end up facing justice -- and if you are an opposition politician in Russia, or a human rights activist, or a journalist, you will know this.
article_snippet: If the dangers weren't clear enough, the circumstances of The killing of Boris Nemtsov are a stark reminder.
article_snippet: It's this: if you oppose Kremlin, if you criticize Kremlin power, if you stand for greater democracy and reform, as Boris Nemtsov did, this could happen to you too.
article_snippet: But many Russians I've spoken to since the killing are, in fact, very afraid.
article_snippet: And while the hope among opposition activists is that Boris Nemtsov's killing may at least invigorate Nemtsov's killing ranks, one very real possibility is that it will do the exact opposite: further silence an already very quiet minority opposed to the rule of Vladimir Putin.
highlights_snippet: A series of Kremlin critics have been murdered since Vladimir Putin came to power .
  
highlights_snippet: The killing of Boris Nemtsov has struck fear into the hearts of Vladimir Putin's critics .