Moscow: Russia’s prominent opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, passed away on Friday at a penal colony above the Arctic Circle, where he was serving a lengthy prison sentence. The Russian prison service reported that Navalny, 47, collapsed and lost consciousness.
More than a decade ago, Navalny gained fame for satirizing President Vladimir Putin and the Russian elite, accusing them of widespread corruption, greed, and luxury.
The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District stated that Navalny “felt unwell” following a walk at the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp, located approximately 1,900 km (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow. According to the statement, he lost consciousness almost immediately.
“All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Doctors of the ambulance stated the death of the convict,” the prison service said, adding that causes of death were being established.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov informed President Putin about Navalny’s demise. Putin, currently in the midst of a re-election campaign, was seen in a televised clip visiting a factory in the Urals.
While supporters of Navalny expressed uncertainty about his reported death, if confirmed, they believed he had been the victim of foul play.
“Russian authorities publish a confession that they killed Alexei Navalny in prison,” Navalny aide Leonid Volkov wrote on social media. “We do not have any way to confirm it or to prove this isn’t true.”
Navalny’s attorney was en route to the “Polar Wolf” prison in Kharp, where Navalny passed away. State television in Russia broadcasted a press conference held by the central bank.
Dmitry Muratov, the editor of a Russian newspaper and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, declared on Friday that the demise of incarcerated opposition leader Alexei Navalny was deemed as “murder.” Muratov expressed his belief that Navalny’s harsh treatment had ultimately led to his death.
“My sincere belief is that it was the conditions of detention that led to Navalny’s death … His sentence was supplemented by murder,” Muratov said, offering condolences to his family.
Navalny gained respect from various factions of Russia’s opposition when he willingly returned to the country in 2021 from Germany, where he had undergone treatment for what Western lab tests revealed as a nerve agent poisoning attempt.
During the incident in August 2020, Navalny claimed he was poisoned in Siberia. The Kremlin refuted any attempt to assassinate him, asserting there was no evidence of nerve agent poisoning.
In a 2011 Moscow interview with Reuters, Navalny was questioned about whether he was afraid of challenging Putin’s system.
“That’s the difference between me and you: you are afraid and I am not afraid,” he said. “I realize there is danger, but why should I be afraid?”