Moscow bids farewell to Boris Nemtsov

The start of the protest march on the banks of the River Moskva resembled the tip of a spear. Police estimated that a total of 21,400 people joined the procession, organizers put the figure cloer to the 50,000 limit agreed upon by Moscow's city authorities.

Protesters were well equipped to show their sadness at the opposition politician's death; organizers had prepared numerous placards displaying Nemtsov's image.

But Moscow's security services were well prepared as well. The protesters had been told not to deviate from the approved path for the march. Sunday's demonstration in Moscow stayed peaceful, however, without tempers flaring on either side.

Russia's leadership fears little more than a kind of "orange" revolution in Moscow, akin to events in Ukraine in 2004 and 2013/4. Many of the flags on display on Sunday showed that protesters also had Kyiv on their minds.

The demonstration continued into the early evening, with many people laying flowers or other condolences at the site of the shooting.

Opposition supporters in Russia were not mourning alone. In Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, for instance, a ceremony was held in Nemtsov's honor on Sunday. The opposition politician had criticized Russia's stance in Ukraine's conflict.

Courageous and resolute: that's how Boris Nemtsov is likely to be remembered by many in Moscow.