U.S. officials rename Russian Embassy street after Vladimir Putin critic

Russian embassy workers now face a street named after one of President Vladimir Putin’s most popular critics.

U.S. officials renamed the street Tuesday in honor of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015. Politicians gathered with Nemtsov’s family to unveil the new street sign noting the block of Wisconsin Avenue NW facing the Russian Embassy, now called Boris Nemtsov Plaza.

“This street sign directly outside of the Russian Embassy will serve as a reminder to Vladimir Putin and to those who support him that they cannot use murder and violence and intimidation to silence the voices of freedom and dissent. The voices of the defenders of liberty will live on,” Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, said during the sign dedication ceremony.

A physicist and politician, Nemtsov opposed many of Mr. Putin’s policies and authoritarian rule. He was gunned down crossing a bridge near the Kremlin on Feb. 25, 2015.

“Freedom and dignity, that’s the values we shared with Boris and his fight for that, not only in Russia but also internationally,” said Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly. “In my country, he remains in history.”

Nemtsov’s god-daughter unveiled the new street sign bearing his name.

“After his tragic death, I regard it as my lifetime goal and commitment to stay true to my father’s memories,” Nemstov’s daughter, Zhanna Nemtsov, said to reporters.

“Russian history has a funny way of making the wrong turns,” said Mr. Kara-Murza, who himself has been poisoned twice after criticizing Mr. Putin.

Mr. Rubio first proposed renaming the street through a congressional act. After his bill stalled last year, the Florida Republican passed the torch to the D.C. Council member Mary Cheh, a Democrat who represents Ward 3 ,where the Russian Embassy is located.

With council Chairman Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, Ms. Cheh in October introduced a bill to rename the street in honor of Nemtsov.

The Cheh-Mendelson bill passed unanimously in January.

“In the years since his assassination, supporters have attempted to have a memorial, a commemoration for Boris Nemtsov,” Ms. Cheh said. “But every time they tried to do that, Russian authorities would remove the flowers, would remove their candles, would remove all their remembrances of them.”

“This naming of the street, this commemoration, will not be removed,” she said.

Asked for a comment on the matter, a State Department spokesperson declined, saying “the naming of streets is a local government matter.”

On Sunday, thousands of people marched in Moscow to mark the third anniversary of Nemtsov’s murder, Reuters reported.

On Tuesday in Washington, one Russian émigré stood holding a framed copy of the newspaper page announcing Nemtsov’s slaying three years ago. She said she was “full of emotion” to have a dedicated place for him and what he stood for.

“I can’t go to the Moscow bridge very often to bring flowers,” said Tatiana Sandler, 44, a mother of four and a Maryland resident. “Now I have a place where I can come with my children.”

Ms. Sandler said she left her native Moscow after becoming concerned about her children’s safety, and the propaganda taught in their schools. 

“It’s very difficult now to believe that something can change. So this place will give force to the belief it should be the end of such a bad, crazy, and very sad situation in Moscow,” she said.