Nemtsov no longer presidential candidate

Photo: Nemtsov no longer presidential candidate

Boris Nemtsov, leader of Russian pro-business party, said Wednesday that he will not run for presidency.

He explained that he was withdrawing so as not to split the vote with what he described as the only other remaining candidate from the democratic opposition, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov.

Boris Efimovich Nemtsov is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, one of co-founders of the Russian political party Union of Right Forces, and an outspoken critics of President Vladimir Putin.

From the time of his dismissal from the government, Nemtsov became an important actor in the political discourse and eventually in the opposition of the Russian government under Vladimir Putin. Nemtsov’s specific political beliefs have caused some to characterize him as a “new liberal”.

With the support of Putin and the Kremlin's tight control over the nation's media and political landscape, Medvedev appears certain to win.