Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (June 4, 1976 - February 16, 2024), a Russian opposition leader, lawyer, anti-corruption activist and political prisoner, died under mysterious circumstances at a maximum-security Penal Colony above the Arctic Circle on February 16, 2024. In August 2023, a Russian court had sentenced Navalny to 19 years in prison for his alleged involvement in corruption. Simultaneously, he was serving a prison term of two-and-a-half years for fraud. However, Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic who the court had also fined RUB 1.2 million (or USD 11,535), dismissed the criminal case against him as politically motivated, and pleaded not guilty.
Reports suggest that the 47-year-old Navalny was quite active on social media even while in jail. He used to send messages to the people of Russia through his lawyer and those messages were posted on social media. Even Navalny described his final days at the Arctic Prison on social media.
The concerned authorities brought Navalny to the Arctic Prison Colony from a prison near Moscow in 2023. He made his first post on social media from there on December 26, 2023. Navalny wrote: "Don't worry about me, everything is well. I am so happy that I finally got here." He added: "I now live above the Arctic Circle… But I don't say 'ho-ho-ho', I say 'oh-oh-oh' when I look out the window, where first there is night, then evening, then night again." Navalny also mentioned that he would receive warm clothes from the prison authorities.
After spending a few weeks in solitary confinement, the Opposition leader wrote about his days in the Arctic prison on social media. He wrote: "The idea that Putin was pleased (enough) that he had put me in a barracks in the Far North that they would stop throwing me in solitary confinement was… naive." He admitted that the prison authorities allowed him to go on a walk at 6:30am when it was pitch-black outside, stressing: "I promised myself I would go out in any weather." It may be noted that the Putin Administration sent Navalny to the dark cell a total of 27 times for breaking prison rules!
Navalny further mentioned that he was thinking of actor Leonardo DiCaprio in the cold. In a January 9 social media post, he wrote: "It has never been colder than minus 32 (degrees Celsius). Even in such a temperature, you can walk more than half an hour - only if you have the time to grow back a nose, ears and fingers. Today, I was walking, freezing and thinking about Leonardo DiCaprio and his trick with a dead horse in 'The Revenant'."
On Valentine's Day, Navalny shared his last post on social media, dedicating it to his wife Yulia. "Baby, you and I have everything, just like in the song: cities, airfield lights, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometres between us. But I feel that you are near me every second, and I love you more and more," he wrote.
One of Navalny's cases was scheduled to be taken up by a Russian court on February 15 (2024). In a video message that day, he was seen joking with some Russian judges. In that video, he was also seen (jokingly) asking the judges for money. According to sources close to the Penal Colony, Navalny was walking in his cell on February 16 morning. In a statement, the authorities mentioned: "On February 16, 2024, in Correctional Colony No 3, convict A A Navalny felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness." Later, doctors examined the Putin foe and declared him dead!
Meanwhile, US President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr has claimed that his Russian counterpart Putin is responsible for the death of Navalny. In a statement, the US President said that he was not surprised at all by Navalny's death as he was well aware of the fate of the Russian Opposition leader. For her part, US Vice President Kamala Harris stated that Navalny's death was a further sign of the brutality of President Putin, adding: "Let us be clear, Russia is responsible. This is a further sign of Putin's brutality." US Secretary of State Antony John Blinken mentioned that Navalny's death "underscore Russia's weakness and rot".
Relations between Washington DC and Moscow have become colder since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine War. President Biden has repeatedly accused his Russian counterpart of showing an aggressive attitude towards Kiev. A section of the international diplomatic community believes that President Biden's comments on the demise of Navalny and the brutal activities of the Putin Administration could further sour ties between the US and Russia. The European leaders, too, have pointed fingers at President Putin after Navalny's mysterious death in prison, mounting pressure on the Kremlin. They have hailed Navalny as a freedom fighter and demanded the Russian strongman to be held accountable.
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