Spotlight: Opposition leader's death has limited impact on Russia

The death of a prominent Russian opposition leader is a challenge to the country's leadership, but authorities are capable of bringing the incident's negative impacts under control, analysts have said.

Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead by an unknown gunman in downtown Moscow at about midnight Saturday.

The spillover impacts of the incident have caught much attention as Russia is confronted with sanctions from the West due to the Kremlin's alleged role in the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, shortly after the assault, Putin "immediately instructed the Investigative Committee, Interior Ministry and Federal Security Service to establish an investigative group," and the president "personally controls the investigation course."

In a message of condolences to Nemtsov's mother, Putin pledged to do everything to bring to justice those responsible for the death of the former deputy prime minister.

Following the tragedy, the Russian opposition canceled the anti-crisis march "Spring" scheduled for Sunday, and has temporarily changed it into a march in commemoration of Nemtsov in central Moscow. Tens of thousands of people gathered near the shooting site with portraits, banners and flowers in their hands.

Organizers of such rallies are usually required to apply for permission 15 days beforehand, but Sunday's march was approved immediately by municipal authorities.

According to the Investigative Committee, the investigation into the death of Nemtsov is following up several clues, among which the possibility of an attempt to destabilize the political situation in Russia is being examined.

Peskov said it is too early to make any conclusion on the death of Nemtsov, but "one can be 100 percent sure that this is a provocation."

The spokesman denied that the killing of Nmetsov would pose any political threat to the current Russian leadership and the president.

"If we compare the level of popularity, ratings of Putin, the government on the whole and so on, then in general Boris Nemtsov had been a bit more than an average citizen," he said.

A recent survey by the Levada Center, an independent pollster, showed that the approval rating of Putin rose to 86 percent in February.

Facing criticisms levelled at the Kremlin by the West, Russian politicians called on the Russian people to keep calm and not to let those with untold motives behind the killing of Nemtsov destabilize the political situation in the country.

"In this case, it does not matter at all what the West will think. It is important to wait for the results of the investigation," Peskov said.

Sergey Mironov, chairman of the political party A Just Russia, said perpetrators of the violence intended to bring chaos and turbulence to the country, adding that "keeping vigilant and calm will be the best answer to the provocation."

Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee, slammed the West for politicizing Nemtsov's death, saying it is groundless to connect the shooting with the Russian leadership.

"The image of the Russian leadership and the nation will not be impaired by such attempts," he said. Endi