According to Russian authorities, anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, who oversaw the political opposition in Russia under President Vladimir Putin for more than ten years, passed away on Friday in an Arctic Circle jail.

Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service confirmed his death, stating that 47-year-old Alexei Navalny passed away on Friday following a walk in the jail he was moved to towards the end of last year.

He made jokes and smiled behind bars during his videoconference appearance at a court hearing on Thursday, the last time he was seen.

Less than a month previous to an election that will extend Putin’s six-year term in office, the shocking discovery incited additional fury and condemnation against the head of the Kremlin, who has clamped down on domestic dissent.

In Moscow and other Russian cities, people placed flowers at memorials honoring those who perished in political repression during the Soviet era.

However, given that the opposition was already weak and dispersed and that Alexei Navalny’s passing would only inflict further harm, there was no immediate sign that his passing would lead to significant demonstrations.

Doubts On Alexei Navalny’s Death

Kira Yarmysh, a Navalny spokesman, stated on X that she was unaware of Navalny’s passing. Yarmysh continued, saying they would report on it as soon as they obtained any information.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokeswoman, stated that the Russian president had been informed of the death.

During the remarks at the White House on Friday, President Biden attributed Navalny’s death to the Kremlin. With “no doubts” that Putin was to blame, the president declared.

In 2021, Biden warned that if Alexei Navalny passed away while incarcerated, Russia would suffer “devastating” repercussions. When questioned on Friday about further penalties against Moscow in connection with Navalny’s passing, he stated that his government was “looking at options”.

He was moved to one of the worst institutions in the nation, an Arctic penal colony, at the end of the previous year.

According to the Yamalo-Nenets district jail staff, he “felt unwell” on Friday following a walk.

According to the Tass news agency, the reasons behind his demise are being investigated.

While the causes are being looked into, Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny’s wife, expressed uncertainty about whether or not to believe the terrible news.

Such prominent opposition leaders are no longer present in Russia. Putin has been Russia’s supreme leader longer than any other person since Josef Stalin, and for some young urban Russians, Navalny gave hope for an alternative future.

More than ten years ago, Navalny gained notoriety by recording and publicly discussing what he claimed to be widespread corruption and extravagant spending among the “crooks and thieves” that Putin’s Russia was ruled by.

In a statement, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District’s Federal Penitentiary Service stated that Navalny became ill following a stroll at the IK-3 correctional colony in Kharp, which is located some 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.

Since his return to Moscow in January 2021, Navalny has been incarcerated. He had been in Germany recovering from a nerve poisoning, which he attributed to the Kremlin. He has now been given three prison terms, which he refused to accept because he believed they were politically motivated.

 

Leaders in the West and other opponents of Putin’s regime commended Navalny for his bravery. Although the cause of the opposition leader’s death is still unknown, many international leaders eventually held Russian authorities accountable for his passing. The opposition leader’s condition had recently declined.

Following Navalny’s poisoning by a nerve toxin in 2020, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that the dissident from the Kremlin’s demise demonstrated the nature of the government in question.

Standing beside Zelenskyy, Scholz remarked that Zelenskyy had likely now paid with his life for his bravery. During his recuperation, the German leader claimed to have met Navalny in Berlin.

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