The Cable
The Cable goes inside the foreign policy machine, from Foggy Bottom to Turtle Bay, the White House to Embassy Row.

Marco Rubio Proposes Naming Street for Slain Russian Opposition Leader

Meanwhile, in Russia, an activist’s house was raided.

By , a global affairs journalist and the author of The Influence of Soros and Bad Jews.
nemtsov
nemtsov

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) has proposed legislation to name the street in front of the Russian Embassy in the United States as “Boris Nemtsov Plaza.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) has proposed legislation to name the street in front of the Russian Embassy in the United States as “Boris Nemtsov Plaza.”

Nemtsov was a prominent Russian opposition figure murdered in plain view of the Kremlin two years ago. He was 55 years old. The anniversary of his death was marked by thousands of protesters in Moscow on Sunday. Five people — all ethnic Chechens — have been charged for Nemtsov’s murder . All have pleaded not guilty.

It is still unclear whether the death is linked to the Kremlin, or whether it was an assassination carried out by Putin supporters, but not with Putin’s support. The latter is the version presented in All the Kremlin’s Men, a look at the inner workings of Putin’s Russia by Mikhail Zygar of independent outlet TV Rain.

Rubio seems to take the first view. “Putin may hope Nemtsov’s murder deters dissent,” Rubio said in a statement sent out on Monday, “but we must continue to support Russia’s pro-democracy movement so that does not happen.” The statement continues, “The creation of ‘Boris Nemtsov Plaza’ would permanently remind Putin’s regime and the Russian people that these dissidents’ voices live on, and that defenders of liberty will not be silenced. It will also help raise awareness among the American people about the ongoing abuses in Putin’s Russia.”

The move was remarked on appreciatively by Russian opposition figures on Twitter. Mikhail Kasyanov tweeted, “Senator Rubio makes a strong move.” Vladimir Kara-Murza (who believes he has been poisoned twice by Russian agents for political reasons) also tweeted out the Rubio statement.

But it seems the proposed reminder will not stop abuses in Putin’s Russia. On Tuesday, Russian journalist and human rights activist Zoya Svetova’s house was raided and searched for over six hours. Svetova is an activist with the anti-Kremlin Open Russia organization, which is run by another famous former political prisoner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Open Russia employees’ homes were also raided in 2015, months after the still unsolved murder of Boris Nemtsov.

Photo credit: VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images

Emily Tamkin is a global affairs journalist and the author of The Influence of Soros and Bad Jews. Twitter: @emilyctamkin

More from Foreign Policy

Residents evacuated from Shebekino and other Russian towns near the border with Ukraine are seen in a temporary shelter in Belgorod, Russia, on June 2.
Residents evacuated from Shebekino and other Russian towns near the border with Ukraine are seen in a temporary shelter in Belgorod, Russia, on June 2.

Russians Are Unraveling Before Our Eyes

A wave of fresh humiliations has the Kremlin struggling to control the narrative.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva shake hands in Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva shake hands in Beijing.

A BRICS Currency Could Shake the Dollar’s Dominance

De-dollarization’s moment might finally be here.

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in an episode of The Diplomat
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in an episode of The Diplomat

Is Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’ Factual or Farcical?

A former U.S. ambassador, an Iran expert, a Libya expert, and a former U.K. Conservative Party advisor weigh in.

An illustration shows the faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin interrupted by wavy lines of a fragmented map of Europe and Asia.
An illustration shows the faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin interrupted by wavy lines of a fragmented map of Europe and Asia.

The Battle for Eurasia

China, Russia, and their autocratic friends are leading another epic clash over the world’s largest landmass.