Latest News
Vladimir Putin’s Staunchest Critic; Alexei Navalny, Dies In Russian Prison
The most ardent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny, died in jail on Friday, according to Russia’s prison administration. Navalny led large-scale anti-Kremlin protests and fought against government corruption.
Mr. Navalny was 47 years old.
Navalny felt ill after going for a stroll on Friday and passed out, according to a statement from the federal prison service. He passed away, despite paramedics effort to revive him.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, claims that Mr. Putin was notified of the death and that the prison service was conducting a routine investigation into the circumstances.
Speaking on X, previously Twitter, Mr. Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh stated that his lawyer was on his way to the town where he was being kept and that the politician’s team had not received any confirmation of his death to date.
Yulia Navalnaya, the spouse of Mr. Navalny, spoke at a security conference in Germany attended by numerous international dignitaries, only hours after news of his passing spread.
She mentioned she had thought about postponing her visit.
“But then I thought what Alexei would do in my place. And I’m sure he would be here,” she said while noting that she was not even sure if she could believe the news coming from official Russian sources.
“But if this is true, I want Putin and everyone around Putin, Putin’s friends, and his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family, and my husband. And this day will come very soon.”
Also Read: Navalny Predicts That Russia Under Putin Will Eventually Fall
In December, Mr. Navalny—who was serving a 19-year sentence for extremist charges—was transferred from his previous jail in the Vladimir area of central Russia to a correctional colony above the Arctic Circle known as a “special regime,” which has the highest level of security in Russia.
The move to a colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region, some 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, was denounced by his allies as just another attempt to quiet Mr. Navalny.
The isolated area is well-known for its protracted and harsh winters.
Vorkuta, whose coal mines were a part of the Soviet Union’s gulag prison camp system, is roughly sixty miles away from Kharp. Since his return to Moscow in January 2021, Navalny has been detained. He had been recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning, which he attributed to the Kremlin.
He organized large-scale anti-Kremlin protests, ran for public office, and waged a campaign against official corruption before his imprisonment. Since then, he has been given three prison terms, which he refused to accept as being driven by politics.
He was sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of embezzlement in 2013 because the case was politically motivated. However, the prosecutor’s office thereafter unexpectedly requested that he be released while he filed an appeal. Later, a higher court sentenced him to a suspended term.
Mr. Navalny had registered as a mayoral candidate for Moscow the day before the verdict. While many observers linked his release to the authorities’ attempt to give the mayoral election some validity, the opposition saw it as the outcome of large protests in the capital of his imprisonment.
Finishing in second place, Mr. Navalny put on an outstanding show against the incumbent, who was supported by Mr. Putin’s political apparatus and well-liked for enhancing the infrastructure and beauty of the city.
Following the shooting death of prominent charismatic politician Boris Nemtsov on a bridge close to the Kremlin in 2015, Mr. Navalny’s popularity surged.
In an apparent attempt to downplay Mr. Navalny’s significance, Mr. Putin made it a point to never mention the activist by name, instead referring to him as “that person” or something like that.
Be careful how you use your authority and influence, be wise, and treat others with respect.
