Alexei Navalny, an outspoken opposition leader known for exposing high-ranking corruption in Russia, has died in a remote penal colony. He is one of Putin's most formidable political opponents, and Putin never calls him by name, and the Kremlin has nothing to do with him.
Navalny died this Friday (February 16, 2024) at the age of 47 in the IK-3 prison, the northernmost prison in Russia. He is a lawyer and ** expert who lives with his wife Yulia and two children, Daria and Zahar, in a monotonous concrete high-rise building in the southeast of Moscow. Around 2010, he came into the public spotlight for exposing high-level corruption, including Putin. He once said: "Putin is the one who steals Russia's future. I participated in this election to fight him. ”
Navalny brought his own fight to the digital stage. He first started his web career as a LiveJournal blogger and later worked with a team of researchers and producers to publish the results of many in-depth investigations. His report reveals how Russia's elite is living in luxury in luxury real estate, including their foreign passports and billions of dollars in assets, the windfall wealth of their families, and the well-paying jobs offered by Kremlin-controlled companies.
Navalny's anti-corruption campaign uses social networks to disseminate this content and creates an alternative to the Kremlin-backed dominant. His YouTube channel has millions of subscribers, and his *** number of times has reached tens of millions. Although his rallies have sparked thousands, hundreds of trials, and dozens of assaults and convictions, many have kept coming back, looking to Navalny as a catalyst for change.
However, Navalny is not invulnerable. According to a poll conducted in February 2021, only 19% of Russians approve of Navalny's work, while another 56% disapprove of him. This may have something to do with the negative coverage of Navalny by the Kremlin-controlled **, portraying him as a "traitor", a "NATO spy", or even a "political pedophile." These negative remarks seem to have influenced the public's perception of Navalny to some extent.
But Navalny did not abandon his activities and anti-corruption campaigns. His team continues to disseminate their findings through social media and organise events. Attracted millions of ** viewers and increased his YouTube channel subscribers. In addition, his anti-corruption campaign has recruited hundreds of grassroots activists and organized a large number of campaigns across the country.
However, these activities also come with risks. Those involved are often in danger of being judged, or even attacked. But despite this, many of them are still insisting on participating, seeing Navalny as a catalyst for change, even if they don't necessarily fully agree with him.
Navalny's death was undoubtedly a huge blow, and he played an important role in giving impetus to the anti-corruption campaign and activities in Russia. While Putin may breathe a sigh of relief at Navalny's death, Navalny's influence will last a long time.
Navalny wrote in 2012 that "under Russia's first democratically elected ** Yeltsin, corruption became a problem." And under Putin, it became systematic. This is what Navalny has been fighting for, and he hopes to expose and change corruption in Russia through his own efforts.