Alexei Navalny, Russian opposition leader and a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, has died at an Arctic penal colony where he was serving an extended jail term.
The Federal Penal Service in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region in northern Siberia said Navalny “felt ill” after going for a walk and lost consciousness almost immediately, as reported by RT. “All the necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but they did not yield positive results.” The Kremlin said President Putin had been informed about Navalny’s death.
Navalny wore many hats—lawyer, anti-corruption activist, protester who organised anti-government demonstrations big enough for the authorities to take note. He was also the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which published probe into alleged corruption by high-ranking Russian officials, including a luxurious Black Sea palace. Putin has denied those allegations.
He was arrested many times and received suspended sentences for embezzlement in two cases, in 2013 and 2014. He was placed under house arrested and barred from communicating with none other than his family.
Navalny tried to run for the presidency in the election held in 2018 but was barred by the election commission. He appealed to the highest court in Russia but to no avail.
In August 2020, Navalny was admitted to hospital in a critical condition after he was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. He was air-evacuated to Berlin by a German NGO. A probe pointed fingers at the Russian security service after which Western sanctions were imposed on senior Russian officials.
After recovering, Navalny returned to Moscow in January 2021, and was immediately arrested. A year later, a court sentenced him to jail for three years and a half for violation his probation for the 2014 suspended sentence, as he had failed to report to the prison service twice per month while he was recovering in Germany.
A raft of other charges was brought against him. He was put on trial for allegedly siphoning millions of dollars in donations to his organisations, found guilty and sentenced to serve nine years in a penal colony. The sentence was extended to 19 years last year after he was convicted of extremist activities.
The European Union, one of Navalny’s staunchest supporters, has held Russia solely responsible for his death. In a post on X, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, said “Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice”.
Alexei Navalny was just 47.
