On February 16, the Russian prison administration announced that Alexei N**alny, the leader of the Russian opposition and Putin's sharpest critic, reportedly died suddenly at the age of 47 in a prison in the Arctic Circle. As Russia's number one opponent of Putin, the news of his death has triggered a violent reaction in Russia and the international community.
Anger and silence
After the news of Navalny's death broke, it triggered a violent reaction from all sides. France's ** Macron said on his social ** account: "In today's **, free thought was sent to the ** camp and sentenced to death. In addition to "shock and anger". Macron went on to write: "I would like to pay tribute to Alexei Navalny himself, to his commitment and to his courage. ”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Narvani's death "extremely heart-wrenching" and called the incident "a signal of a profound transformation in Russia."
On February 17, 2024 local time, people in Moscow, the capital of Russia, spontaneously laid flowers to commemorate Alexei Navalny. (AFP photo).
The United States ** Biden condemned more harshly, and in an interim speech, he stressed: "There is no doubt that Putin is fully responsible for the death of Narvany". Biden said that although the specific cause of death is not yet known in the United States, the Putin regime's political ** and the inhumane conditions of detention imposed on him "are the key to the tragedy." In his speech, Biden said that Narvani's death once again warned the United States and the international community not to have any illusions about Putin's rule, and called for further military assistance to Ukraine.
Narvani's widow, Yulia N**Alny, speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, lashed out at Russia**Putin and his regime, demanding that Putin take "responsibility" for her husband's death and be punished.
On February 17, 2024 local time, Alexei Navalny's widow Yulia Navalny gave a speech during the Munich Security Conference. (AFP photo).
On the Russian side, after the news of the death was announced, the exiled independent ** Novaya Gazeta and Meduza revealed that the Kremlin quickly issued a "silence order" and asked *** not to comment at will. As of now, Russia's Putin has not yet expressed his position, and his spokesman only said that "Putin himself has been aware".
At the same time, according to the statistics of the Financial Times, a large number of posts appeared on social **, the main point of which was that "the West is the biggest beneficiary of Narvani's death". The chairman of the lower house of the Russian State Duma, Vyachesl** Volodin, said that "Washington and Brussels are guilty of Narvani's death," because his death "was in their favor."
On February 17, 2024 local time, residents of St. Petersburg, Russia, spontaneously mourned the death of Narvani. (AFP photo).
Number one opponent.
Born in 1976 in a small city near the Russian capital, Navalny is of Russian and Ukrainian descent and devoted himself to the financial industry after finishing his studies. In 2000, he joined the Democratic Party of Russia for the United of Russia (parti démocratique russe unifié) and has been in politics ever since. Since 2008, he has written articles exposing corruption in Russia's state-owned oil and gas companies. After Russia came to power in 2000, it corrected the pre-Yeltsin era of privatization and re-nationalized it, using it as an opportunity to buy cronies and form a number of oligarchs to stabilize its rule. By exposing Russian political and business collusion and anti-corruption investigations, he gradually gained some influence.
In 2012, he joined a number of Russian opposition leaders to establish the "Russian Opposition Coordination Committee", and tried to unite the forces of the opposition, so as to achieve the replacement of the first country like Russia through democratic elections. Navalny's growing popularity has been accompanied by a growing vigilance from the Russian authorities, who have been arrested and tried several times since 2012.
On October 16, 2013 local time, Navalny and his wife appeared in court in Russia. (AFP photo).
In 2017, he released an investigation into the secret assets of then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and later used a drone to film what was seen as Putin's secret villa. He tried to register for the 2018 ** election, but the Russian Election Commission failed his candidacy review on the grounds that he had previously been convicted on criminal charges.
On August 19, 2020, Navarini became unwell on board the plane while returning to Moscow, and after the flight made an emergency landing, he was taken to the hospital for treatment. After much mediation, he was transferred to Berlin, Germany, three days later for acceptance**. In Germany, investigators found in his body a neurological agent called "nonichok" (meaning "novice" in Russian), which was developed during the former Soviet era. After being discharged from the hospital, Navariny pretended to be a member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, and poisoned himself through questioning, and obtained the truth that the other party had poisoned him.
On January 17, 2021, Navarini chose to return to Russia after recovering physically, but was arrested upon the flight's arrival. On January 19, his partners released a documentary online titled "Putin's Palace: The Biggest Bribe in History." Through investigation, in the film, they revealed an official residence built specifically for Russia's ** Putin. The residence covers an area of 68 hectares, costs more than 100 billion rubles, and is guarded by the Russian Federal Security Service.
Journalists take photos of Narvani as he is about to leave the plane on January 17, 2021, when Narvani returns to Russia by plane from Germany. (AFP photo).
After being imprisoned, Navariny was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for fraud and extremism by Russia**, and in the course of his sentence, he was transferred to a penal colony in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in the Arctic Circle. But he himself did not give up the struggle, and during his negotiations with his lawyers, he called for continued resistance against Putin's regime in Russia.
On 14 February, two days before the news of his death, Narvani's lawyer met with him and later stated that he was in good condition. He also attended his own trial remotely on 15 February, and although he was emaciated, he was in good spirits and mood. According to the Russian side, after the end of the daily routine, Narvani became unwell and subsequently fell into a coma. Although the prison authorities organized rescue efforts, they were ineffective. As of February 18, Narvani's mother had not been able to retrieve her body from Russian authorities, who stressed that the autopsy process would take longer because the first autopsy failed to confirm the exact cause of death, according to AFP.
"Contemporary martyrs".
After his death, spontaneous commemorations were organized by the population throughout Russia. In St. Petersburg, the population left flowers in front of the monument to the victims of politics, as well as Narvani's, to express their nostalgia for the Russian. Similar commemorations took place in Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, Washington, D.C., Warsaw, and other places.
The Dutch newspaper NRC published a memorial article on the death of Narvani in Russia titled "Modern martyr Narvani fights the Kremlin with fire and sword", in which he commented: "How much waiting, torture and humiliation can an individual endure? A lot, that's what the Russian politician and activist Alexei Narvani showed ours. ”
On March 30, 2017, Narvani appeared in court in Russia. (AFP photo).
In January 2024, Navalny issued a statement through his lawyer, in which he responded to questions about his choice to abandon exile and return to Russia. "Russia is my country, and freedom is my faith," he said. Both of these core values are indispensable to me, and I cannot betray Russia or give up my yearning for freedom. In closing, he said, "If you think your belief is important, stand up for it, and if necessary, be conscious of making sacrifices and be prepared."
Compiled by the European Times Matthieu)