On February 16, local time, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was serving a prison sentence, "died suddenly". In this regard, Ukraine's ** Zelensky commented: Navalny died at the hands of Putin.
Navalny was a former anti-corruption blogger who grew to become Russia's largest opposition leader as his influence grew. He has been involved in a large number of corruption "scandals" involving executives of large state-owned enterprises such as United Russia and Russian Oil and Gas. Including the property of Medvedev and other high-ranking "**
Navalny also attacked Putin's anti-corruption campaign and the fight against "oligarchs" as just a "gimmick" and a "formality" of "changing the soup but not the medicine." He once said, "The old oligarchs were beaten, and new oligarchs were added." He also exposed the phenomenon of "changing vests". For this reason, he openly questioned the top of the United Russia party on a TV debate program: Why are so many "young entrepreneurs" (some in their teens) springing up in Russia?
Because of his huge appeal among young Russians, as well as the recognition and support of the West, Navalny was once considered Putin's biggest "rival".
Navalny was a regular visitor to the detention center. Because, whenever there is an important election in Russia, he is usually put in a detention center and released only after the election.
Navalny went into a sudden "shock" on a plane in August 2020, with the opposition claiming to have been "poisoned". After that, Navalny was sent by his family to Germany for rescue and **. After a period of **, Navalny was lucky to pick up a life. However, Navalny rejected the advice and dissuasion of the "well-wishers" and insisted on returning to Russia from Germany.
However, as soon as Navalny entered the Russian border, he was immediately arrested by the Russian security services. In March 2021, he was sentenced to nine years in prison.
After the "Wagner mercenary day trip" incident, Russia strengthened its internal "security management" and began to crack down on "security risks". Based on this, Strelkov, the former "hero of the reconquest of Crimea", was arrested and sentenced to 4 years in prison for "extreme ***." Navalny was sentenced to an additional 19 years in prison in August 2023 on charges of organizing an "extremist association."
After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Navalny, who was in prison, repeatedly made anti-war remarks, accusing Putin of making the Russian people "cannon fodder" for "personal purposes". Therefore, Zelensky is naturally "sympathetic" for Navalny.
Regarding Navalny's sudden "violent death", Zelensky, who is meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, believes that in order to preserve his position, Putin can sacrifice all those he thinks should be sacrificed. Based on this, Zelensky claimed that Putin will lose everything because of what he has done.
Back in 2021, when Navalny was imprisoned, Biden issued a strong warning to Putin that if Navalny died in prison, Russia would face "catastrophic" consequences.
It is obvious that the Western camp will inevitably use the "death of Navalny" to disintegrate Russia from within. At present, many places in Russia have begun to spontaneously mourn Navalny. Needless to say, Putin will face another major test.