It is clear that Nemtsov was the complete opposite of the villain Prigozhin. However, they have one thing in common – they were killed by Putin. In Russia, only a dictator has a license to kill members of the ruling elite or stars of the opposition scene. No one else would dare to do it.
Interestingly, in trying to excuse himself from these murders, Putin obviously repeated himself and resorted to the same clichéd techniques.
After the Nemtsov murder:
“Regarding the crime against Boris Efimovich Nemtsov. I knew him personally, we didn’t always have bad relations. I never spoiled relations with him at all, he chose this way of political struggle, personal attacks and so on. But I’m used to it… He’s not the only one. But it is not at all a fact that a person should be killed…
Criminals must be found and exposed, punished. It may not be done immediately, but we have other examples of crimes of this kind. And in the end, despite the fact that the investigation lasts long enough, it comes to its logical conclusion”.
After Prigozhin’s murder:
“I knew Prigozhin for a very long time, since the early 1990s. He was a man of complex destiny, and he had serious mistakes in his life, and he achieved the right results – both for himself and, when I asked him to do so, for the common cause, as in these last months. He was a talented man, a talented businessman…
But what is absolutely certain – I was informed about it this morning by the head of the Investigative Committee – they have already started a preliminary investigation into the incident. It will be conducted in full and brought to the end. There is no doubt about it.
Thus, in both cases, the same scheme to avoid responsibility was used:
1. Long acquaintance and good relations with the murdered person were emphasized (say, how could I kill an old friend).
2. It was said that there was no personal motivation for the murder (I allegedly did not break relations with Nemtsov, and even cooperated with Prigozhin just before the murder).
3. It was claimed that the investigation would be brought to an end, and the guilty would be punished (they say it was not me – we will find the true customers).
As the Nemtsov case has shown, all these justifications are blatant lies. However, Putin is lying according to the same scheme again.
Putin’s excuses for the Nemtsov and Prigozhin cases are almost identical. Learned, repetitive techniques of avoiding responsibility give away the murderer with his head.
