IRIA News

Russia opposition leader and imprisoned political activist Alexei Navalny died in Arctic jail, the state media reported. Navalny had been jailed in serving 19 years of sentence on the charges of extremism.

There was no immediate confirmation about the death of the 47-year-old Navalny by his team. Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said his lawyer was traveling to the remote prison colony north of the Arctic Circle, where he was kept.

Navalny’s spokesperson Leonid Volkov posted on X saying that “Russian authorities publish a confession that they killed Alexei Navalny in prison. We do not have any way to confirm it or to prove this isn’t true.”

In a statement released by the Russian state-run media on February 16, 2023, the federal prison services said that Navalny complained about his health as “felt bad” after a walk and lost consciousness “almost immediately”.

The statement added that “Medical staff arrived immediately, and an ambulance team was called. Resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Paramedics confirmed the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established.”

Navalny had been captured in the IK-3 penal colony prison situated in Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region, about 1,900 kilometers northeast of Moscow. The region falls in the Arctic Circle and its prison facility is one of the harshest prisons in Russia with temperatures reaching extremely low during winter.

Most inmates who are sent to the prison in Kharp have been convicted of grave crimes. The prison is situated about 100 kilometers from Vorkuta, whose coal mines were part of the Soviet gulag camp system.

The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed about Navalny’s death. When asked about unconfirmed reports the jailed activist may have died from a blood clot, Peskov said that only medics should establish the cause of his death.

Navalny’s family and friends said they were still trying to confirm his death independently. His wife, Yulia Navalnaya is also a famous economist, political activist, and a notable public figure. She is currently present in Germany to attend the Munich security conference.

Following the news about her husband’s death, Yulia said “I don’t know whether to believe the terrible news that we’ve received only from official media … we cannot believe Putin and his government.”

“But if it is true, then I would like Putin, his staff, his friends, and his government to know that they will be punished for what they’ve done with our country, my family, and my husband. They will be brought to justice, and that day will come very soon,” Yulia added.

Yulia Navalnaya considered traveling back to her family. Instead, she addressed the global community at #MSC2024.

“I thought about what Alexey would have done. If it is the truth, I’d like Putin to know that he will be brought to justice soon.”#Navalny pic.twitter.com/2HOtaPuaB7

— Munich Security Conference (@MunSecConf) February 16, 2024

A day before his death, Navalny appeared well and cheerful as he gave testimony by videolink. The camera panned away to show the court officials grinning along with him, enjoying the banter. Navalny peered through a barred window, laughing and cracking jokes about his depleting funds and the judge’s salary.

Who was Alexei Navalny?

The death of Navalny has shut down a chapter of internal political opposition that Putin has constantly faced since he came to power. There are now no opposition leaders of such prominence left in Russia.

Navalny rose to prominence more than a decade ago by documenting and speaking publicly about what he said was the vast corruption and opulence among the “crooks and thieves” running Putin’s Russia. The peak of his political career came in 2013 when he won 27% of the vote in a Moscow mayoral contest. Although he failed to become the mayor of Moscow, many of his supporters believe that he would have easily won if it was a free and fair election.

One of his most famous journalistic works includes exposing Russia’s governmental corruption. He brought to public knowledge several mansions and yachts used by the ex-president Dmitry Medvedev through collaboration with a sex worker who linked a top foreign policy official with a well-known oligarch.

In 2020, Navalny went into a coma after a suspected poisoning and was evacuated to Germany for medical treatment where he remained until 2021. Navalny returned to Russia in January 2021 where he was arrested from the plane on a parole violation charge and sentenced to his first of several jail terms that would total more than 30 years behind bars.

More than 170 detained for memorial  

As news of Navalny’s death spread across the country, spontaneous memorials took place in several urban areas. According to some sources, Russian Police detained more than 170 people across the country, including 99 only from St. Petersburg, at memorials and rallies to honor opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Videos and photos of the deceased political activist flooded the Russian social media. Some videos also showed flowers being cleared from monuments. Most of the gatherings were arranged at the monuments commemorating the victims of Soviet-era repression across the country.

OVD-Info, an independent media outlet that tracks political repression in Russia, reported that at least 177 people were taken into police custody across Russia.

World reacts to Navalny’s death

Western condemnation of the Kremlin was swift and fierce following news of Navalny’s death. Several foreign officials and Western political figures said that Putin was directly responsible for Navalny’s death.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he was “outraged” by the news. He blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death. “Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” he said. Navalny “bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence, and all the bad things that the Putin government was doing. In response, Putin had him poisoned, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes … Even in prison, he was a powerful voice for the truth,” Biden said.

The U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan commented on the news saying that “If it’s confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy.” The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered his condolences to Navalny’s family and added that: “His death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this.”

Responding to the news of Navalny’s death, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia has “serious questions” to answer. “Alexey Navalny has been a strong voice for freedom, for democracy for many years and NATO allies have called for his immediate release for a long time,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Germany.

Saddened & concerned by the reports of Alexei Navalny's death. Russia has serious questions to answer. Navalny has been a strong voice for freedom & democracy; NATO & Allies had long called for his release. My thoughts are with his family & loved ones.

— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) February 16, 2024

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Navalny’s death showed that “Putin fears nothing more than dissent from his own people.” She added that “The world has lost a freedom fighter in Alexei Navalny. We will honor his name.”

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said that “if confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin’s brutality. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is also present in Germany for the Munich security conference, said it was “obvious” that Putin was behind Navalny’s death. The German Finance Minister Christian Lindner also echoed Zelenskyy’s comments saying that “Alexei Navalny fought for a democratic Russia. For that, Putin tortured him to death.”

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was a “huge tragedy”, saying Navalny had demonstrated “incredible courage” in his life. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: “Putin’s Russia imprisoned him, trumped up charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an Arctic penal colony and now he has tragically died. And we should hold Putin accountable for this.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Navalny was a “strong fighter for democracy, for freedoms, for the Russian people.” He added that the incident “really shows the extent to which Putin will crack down on anyone who is fighting for freedom for the Russian people”.