海角大神

Two suspects are in custody over last week鈥檚 killing of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov 鈥� the first sign of progress in the case.

Russian authorities have detained Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadayev, two men from the volatile and insurgency-plagued North Caucasus region in southern Russia, .

"The individuals detained are, according to our investigation, involved in the organization and execution of the killing of Boris Nemtsov," the committee leading the investigation said in a statement, .

Bortnikov gave no details of how and where the suspects were detained, but he reportedly said Saturday that President Vladimir Putin has been informed of the detainment and that the investigation is ongoing.

The two men in custody are the first signs of any headway in the case since Mr. Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and a fierce critic of Mr. Putin, was killed as he walked home on the evening of Feb. 27. Nemtsov was shot four times in the back, within sight of the Kremlin, in the 鈥渕ost high-profile killing of an opposition figure in Putin鈥檚 15-year rule,鈥� according to Reuters.

Some 50,000 people attended a rally to protest the murder Sunday, and thousands more paid their respects when Nemtsov was buried in Moscow Tuesday.

A car and a camera

Neither Mr. Gubashev nor Mr. Dadayev have been formally charged, making it unclear whether either of the men are alleged to have fired the fatal shot. Russia鈥檚 Interfax news agency reported that the suspects were identified through phone records along with evidence found in a car they purportedly used, .

Anna Duritskaya, Nemtsov鈥檚 Ukrainian girlfriend who was with him the night of his death, has told authorities she saw nothing of the assailants 鈥� only a white car, .

Security camera footage also provided 鈥渟ufficiently clear鈥� images of the suspects, Interfax reported, according to the BBC.

Nemtsov鈥檚 political ally Ilya Yashin expressed skepticism that this investigation would distinguish itself from previous cases of political assassination in post-Soviet Russia聽鈥� none of which have ever been solved.听

"Often in such high-profile cases it comes down only to detain the perpetrators, thus enabling the authorities to get a nice picture on TV," Mr. Yashin . "But if [authorities] will be able to avoid responsibility, the practice of political assassinations, will no doubt continue."

Few facts, many theories

Little else is known of the who and the why behind Nemtsov's murder, at this point. But theories have flourished.

The day after the fatal shooting, Russia鈥檚 Investigative Committee released a statement outlining several possible motives. These included everything from Islamic extremists offended by Nemtsov鈥檚 position on the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris to someone angered by his affair with the much younger Ms. Duritskaya.

Another theory 鈥� one that echoed remarks by Putin鈥檚 spokesman and other Russian politicians 鈥� was that Nemtsov was a 鈥渟acrificial victim,鈥� and that his murder was an attack on Russia鈥檚 political stability.

鈥淭he term 鈥榮acrificial victim鈥� was also the same one Putin used three years ago when he warned that his political opponents were planning to kill one of their own and then blame it on his government,鈥� according to the Associated Press.

Others have noted that the Kremlin skirted one other possibility: That Nemtsov was killed for his vocal criticism of Putin鈥檚 regime.

鈥淭hink about this for a moment. If you are someone who opposes Putin right now and you see a high-profile leader shot in the street, you are going to be afraid,鈥� Amy Knight, a Russian political expert who knew Nemtsov professionally, told 海角大神. 鈥淚 believe that鈥檚 a far more credible motive than to say it was his own party or a foreign faction, etc.鈥�

At the time of his death, Nemtsov was looking into what he said was 鈥渄issembling and misdeeds in the Kremlin,鈥� .听He reportedly told Yevgenia Albats, editor of the Russian magazine New Times, that he planned to publish a pamphlet, to be called 鈥淧utin and the War,鈥� that would reveal the Russian government鈥檚 involvement in the 11-month-old Ukrainian conflict.

鈥淗e was afraid of being killed,鈥� Ms. Albats, who met Nemtsov to discuss his plans about two weeks before his murder, told The New York Times.

鈥淎nd he was trying to convince himself, and me, they wouldn鈥檛 touch him because he was a member of the Russian government, a vice premier, and they wouldn鈥檛 want to create a precedent,鈥� she added. 鈥淏ecause as he said, one time the power will change hands in Russia again, and those who served Putin wouldn鈥檛 want to create this precedent.鈥�