Remembering Alexei Navalny
Remembering Alexei Navalny
One of Putin’s Fiercest Critics has died according to Russian authorities
By D.S. Mitchell
Death Reports
It was February 16th, and I was watching MSNBC when a red news alert banner appeared at the base of the screen. “Alexei Navalny, anti-corruption activist and well-known Putin critic reported dead.” Within moments Joy Reid was sharing the dreadful news that the world’s most famous political prisoner was dead at 47, from “sudden death syndrome.” SDS is a common condition amongst Putin opponents. The pattern of lethal attacks against Kremlin critics is alarming, ranging from gun shots at close range, falls from buildings, and exotic poisonings.
I started to cry. I never met Alexei Navalny, but for the world to lose a man of such courage and charisma is heartbreaking. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a speech in Munich on Friday that if the reports about her husband’s death are true, Putin and his associates “will be brought to justice.” Yulia, who has primarily remained in the background during Alexei’s years of activism, indicates she will carry on his very public work.
To the End
Navalny has been a thorn in the Putin’s side for over a decade. Navalny was a trained attorney, a well-known blogger and YouTuber, and anti-corruption advocate. Prior to his imprisonment Navalny organized several large protests against Putin and the Kremlin. While in prison, he remained a strident political voice, speaking out against Putin and filing lawsuits against Russia’s terrible prison system.
Underpants Poisoning
Navalny survived multiple poisoning attempts, one in which he claimed his underpants had been loaded with the neuroparalytic, Novichok. To each of the various attempts on his life the Kremlin denied responsibility. In 2020 after a dramatic hospitalization in Berlin, Germany for another Novichok poisoning, Navalny decided despite the danger, he would return to Russia instead of emigrating to some “safe country” in the west.
Last Seen
After returning to Russia he was imprisoned on fraud and extremism charges, all of which Navalny denied. He was serving a 30 year sentence at the time of his death. In December 2023, Navalny’s lawyers said that they had lost contact with him. Three weeks after their complaint he was located in a high-security penal colony above the Arctic Circle. His last public appearance was at a court hearing Thursday, February 15, 2024, during which he was seen joking with the judge, according to a video of the hearing published by a Russian news outlet.
Biden & Blinkin Reactions
Biden praised Navalny’s courage. “He bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and all the bad things that the Putin government was doing,” Biden said. “In response, Putin had him poisoned, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes, he sentenced him to prison, he held him in isolation … Even in prison he was a powerful voice for the truth.” Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State said: “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.”
Anti-Protest Laws
In many cities across Russia, small groups of Russians braved strict anti-protest laws and laid flowers at makeshift memorials to Navalny. More than 400 people have been arrested, according to OVD-Info, a Russian rights group that tracks political arrests and offers legal aid. Navalny is survived by his wife Yulia and their two children. In a Valentine’s Day post to his wife, he wrote: “I feel that you are close to me every second and I love you more and more.”
Before and After Moment
Supporters and allies were visibly stunned by the news of his death, and many pointed an accusing finger at Putin. Many of his supporters telling western media it was murder. Mikhail Fishman, a journalist, blinked back tears as he said: “We must learn to live with this news somehow. But we understand the scale of what has happened, that we will mark this as a before-and-after moment.”
