Mr Nemtsov said the court decision was part of a government push to ensure victory for the acting mayor, Mr Pakhomov.

BBC: Lebedev barred from Sochi contest

Mr Nemtsov, untainted by such a past or by association with the new rich, has been the most innovative of Russia's regional governors.

ECONOMIST: A cautious cheer for a reshuffled Kremlin

But Mr Chubais has been stripped of his oversight of the finance ministry, and Mr Nemtsov has lost control of the fuel and energy ministry.

ECONOMIST: Russia fights a run

Mr Nemtsov revealed that the commission thought March 1 was the best day for the burial - it's the Sunday before Lent, a Russian Orthodox holiday known as Forgiveness Sunday, when believers repent their sins.

BBC: Despatches

Last month the Russian justice ministry announced that it was refusing to register the People's Freedom Party, a coalition created by four former members of previous Russian governments: Mikhail Kasyanov, Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Ryzhkov and Vladimir Milov.

BBC: MEPs' fears for Russian elections