Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny: Who Was He, and What Led to His Untimely Death in Prison?

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison, the penal colony where he was held said. He was previously poisoned, classified as a terrorist and sentenced to a total of more than thirty years in prison. Who was this 47-year-old politician?

Alexei Navalny (47)

• Gained fame as a corruption fighter
• Was one of the Kremlin’s most prominent critics
• Was opposition leader since 2012
• Was poisoned with nerve agent in August 2020
• Was arrested in January 2021 and faced multiple charges
• There was a wave of protests in Russia over his arrest

Navalny was considered one of the main opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime. With his anti-corruption organization FBK, he regularly criticized the president’s rule. He also spent years investigating corruption in politics.

In 2011, Navalny made an international name for himself with his prominent role in demonstrations against Putin. Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets because Putin’s party allegedly committed fraud in the parliamentary elections. These were the largest protests since the former KGB agent came to power in 1999.

Although Navalny was arrested after those demonstrations and given a 15-day prison sentence, he continued to resist. He was elected leader of the opposition in 2012. In the following years, he was arrested and convicted more often, including for corruption and organizing illegal protests.

According to experts and the opposition leader himself, those convictions were politically motivated. He was never imprisoned for long, but his criminal record prevented him from running in the 2018 presidential elections. He unsuccessfully appealed that decision and called on his followers to boycott the polls.

Navalny was a nationalist politician. In the past, he made controversial statements about immigrants, Muslims and ethnic minorities in Russia and maintained ties with far-right organizations. Although he never formally distanced himself from his previous comments, people who knew him well say Navalny’s views softened over the years. Above all, he wanted a free and democratic Russia, they say.

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Police arrest opposition leader Navalny upon return to Russia

Navalny was possibly poisoned several times

The opposition leader was regularly threatened and attacked. For example, he was abused several times in the street by supporters of the Russian government. He also suffered an eye injury in 2017 after a man who has never been identified threw disinfectant in his face.

On August 20, 2020, Navalny became seriously unwell during a domestic flight. After much wrangling with the authorities, he was taken to Germany. There it was determined that he had been poisoned with the Russian nerve agent Novichok. This was also used in the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, British, in 2018. Like the Skripals, Navalny survived the attack.

That may not have been the only attempt to poison him. Navalny developed severe facial swelling and a red rash in 2019 while in prison. The hospital said this was due to an allergic reaction, but his personal doctor spoke of a possible poisoning.

Navalny also believed in 2023 that authorities had deliberately infected him in prison. He had a high fever and respiratory problems. Earlier that year, the opposition leader complained of back pain and stated that he was injected with unknown drugs.

Politically motivated processes

After the novichok poisoning in 2020, Navalny recuperated in a hospital in Berlin. In January 2021, he left Germany to return to Russia. The opposition leader was immediately arrested there. New mass protests then broke out in Russia. There were several (very dubious) charges against him. According to experts, Navalny now posed a serious threat to Putin.

Russia arrested Navalny because his stay abroad allegedly violated the reporting obligation attached to a suspended prison sentence of 3.5 years. He was sentenced to death in 2014 for defrauding the French cosmetics company Yves Rocher. According to the European Court of Human Rights, that conviction was unjustified.

In addition, Russian prosecutors alleged that Navalny embezzled donations to his anti-corruption fund. There were also defamation cases against him and the opposition leader was facing another suspended prison sentence. He received this in 2013 for fraud surrounding a state-owned forestry company. That verdict was also not based on legitimate evidence, the European Court ruled.

Navalny on list of terrorists and extremists

Russian authorities added Navalny to a list of individuals and organizations alleged to be terrorist and extremist in January 2022. Navalny’s political network and anti-corruption foundation were previously listed and banned.

In March 2022, the opposition leader was sentenced to a further nine years in prison for embezzling funds from his own organizations. A few months later, nineteen years were added, due to so-called extremist activities. Navalny appealed, but lost the case in September last year.

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Navalny gets 19 years in prison in Russian mock trial

Three weeks without a trace

Navalny has been in a heavily guarded penal colony in the Vladimir region in recent years. From there, he regularly made himself heard on social media through his team.

At the beginning of December last year, the opposition leader suddenly disappeared. It turned out that he had been transferred to another penal colony, but at that time it was not yet clear which one. His team raised the alarm when they could no longer contact him. His deteriorating health also contributed to the concerns.

After three weeks, Navalny reappeared on the radar. It turned out that he had been transferred to a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle in northern Siberia. Navalny said on social media that he was doing well under the circumstances, but that he was exhausted.

According to Navalny’s spokesman, his life was made difficult in the penal colonies. At the end of January, the spokesperson reported that the opposition leader had been put in solitary confinement for the 26th time. According to him, this happened at the slightest thing. The last time, Navalny allegedly incorrectly introduced himself to a new prison guard.

Russian authorities say Navalny became unwell after a walk and that resuscitation was unsuccessful. There are shocked reactions to his death. Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte and NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg, among others, hold Russia responsible for his death. According to Navalny’s mother, who visited him in prison earlier this week, the opposition leader still looked cheerful and healthy.

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Navalny jokes day before his death in prison

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2024-02-16 15:04:00
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