Moscow ( CNN ) Ever since Vladimir Putin came to power , there have been killings of politicians , of human rights activists , of journalists . Boris Nemtsov , one of Russia 's most prominent opposition figures , is only the latest victim . The key thing all these crimes have in common is that none of them get properly resolved . Of course , the Kremlin will issue condemnation and condolences , as it has done over the assassination of Nemtsov . But the killers and the people who ordered the killings do n'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 . If the dangers were n't clear enough , the circumstances of the most recent killing are a stark reminder . It was late Friday night . Boris Nemtsov and his girlfriend Anna Duritskaya , a Ukrainian model , had eaten dinner at plush restaurant on Red Square . Afterwards , despite the chilly weather , they decided to walk back to his apartment , perhaps to take in the stunning views . The Kremlin looks spectacular at night . It was on this short journey , in the heart of Moscow , that the gunman struck , leaving Nemtsov dead within sight of the red Kremlin walls -- walls which , by the way , bristle with security cameras . In the days since , thousands have made pilgrimage to the place where the outspoken Putin critic was shot to pay their respects , leaving a mountain of flowers and personal messages . An opposition rally on Sunday , which Nemtsov was meant to lead , was canceled and replaced with a mourning march past the crime scene . It was the biggest pro-opposition rally in the Russian capital for years . But few who took part could have missed the symbolism , the real message the killers -- whoever they are -- sent by gunning down such a prominent Kremlin critic in the shadow of its towering walls . It 's this : if you oppose the Kremlin , if you criticize its power , if you stand for greater democracy and reform , as Boris Nemtsov did , this could happen to you too . It 's hard to predict what impact this message will have . `` Yet another terrible page has been turned in the history we all share , '' wrote Mikhail Khodorkovsky , the once-jailed oligarch-turned Kremlin critic now in exile . `` What the next page holds is up to each and every one of us , '' he said , commenting on the death of Nemtsov . The statement was issued under the banner `` We Are Not Afraid '' . But many Russians I 've spoken to since the killing are , in fact , very afraid . And while the hope among opposition activists is that Nemtsov 's killing may at least invigorate their 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 .
A series of Kremlin critics have been murdered since Vladimir Putin came to power . The most recent was Boris Nemtsov, a prominent opposition figure who had worked for years as an adviser to the Kremlin.