Alexei Navalny: Life, Work & Assassination

“You are not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means we are incredibly strong. – Alexei Navalny. The world woke to the breaking news on Friday, February 16th, 2024 that Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent and charismatic opposition leader had died in a Russian prison camp. Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service said Navalny felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived, but he could not be revived. The service said his cause of death was “being established.” The statement from the Penitentiary Service appears well scripted and gave no details. Aptly nicknamed the Polar Wolf, the prison sits above the Arctic Circle and is described as a "special regime colony", with temperatures in the region plummeting to -30C in winter. It's so much on the outskirts of civilization that it makes it nearly impossible for visitors to reach the site. Navalny was transported to the prison from his previous incarceration at the Melekhovo colony, approximately four hours from Moscow, where he had been serving a two-year sentence. During his time in prison he suffered with health issues, perhaps as a result of being poisoned with Novichok, for which he had required life-saving treatment in Germany. In recent times Navalny reported debilitating back pain, stomach pain and numbness in his legs, the opposition politician was denied access to medical records, medication and subject to hourly night checks. Early Years and Education. Navalny attended the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia in Moscow, and he graduated with a law degree in 1998. He remained in Moscow to practice law and to continue his studies, and in 2001 he earned an economics degree from the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. In 2000, while he was still a student, Navalny joined Yabloko, a political party that promoted liberal democracy and a market economy. Alexei Navalny was born in 1976, in a village just to the west of Moscow. He grew up in Obninsk, a town 100km (62 miles) south-west of Moscow, eventually graduating in law at Moscow's Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in 1998. Navalny’s father was a Soviet army officer, and his mother was an economist. Navalny grew up at a variety of garrison towns in the Moscow area, but he spent summers with his paternal grandmother in the countryside near Chernobyl, Ukraine. After the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in April 1986, Navalny’s paternal relatives were evacuated from the area, but not before they had observed the attempted cover-up of the disaster by the Soviet government. Local residents were forced to plant potatoes in irradiated soil as part of an effort by Soviet authorities to minimize the apparent danger from radiation exposure. Yulia met Navalny in the summer of 1998 during holidays in Turkey. The couple got married two years later, in 2000. The couple has two children a daughter Daria, 23, and a son Zakhar, 15. Yulia Navalnaya, 47, has been described as Russia’s ‘first lady’ of the opposition. History of Assassinations . For those who have followed Putin over the years, the suspicious death of Navalny comes as no surprise. After all Navalny survived a number of assassination attempts. Without a doubt the most severe was the poisoning by use of the nerve agent Novichok. Russia under Putin has had a history of eliminating any opposition to the cruel and unjust rule of Putin. The highest profile killing of a political opponent in recent years was that of Boris Nemtsov. He was once a deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin. Nemtsov was a popular politician and harsh critic of Putin. On a cold February night in 2015, he was gunned down by assailants on a bridge adjacent to the Kremlin as he walked with his girlfriend in a death that shocked the country. In August of 2023, a plane crashed and killed Yevgeny Prigozhin along with his top lieutenants of his Wagner private military company; this was two months after he launched an armed rebellion that Putin labeled “a stab in the back” and “treason.” While not critical of Putin, Prigozhin slammed the Russian military leadership and questioned the motives for going to war in Ukraine. Suspiciously, all of Putin’s critics have had some mysterious brush with death. The death of Russian opposition politician and outspoken Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny triggered a global reaction, with supporters demonstrating outside Russian embassies and world leaders paying tribute. “We don’t know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Nalvany was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did,” Biden said. French President Emmanuel Macron accused Russia of sentencing "free spirits" to death after the Kremlin's most prominent critic Navalny died. “I pay tribute to the memory of Alexeï Navalny, his dedication, his courage. My thoughts go out to his family, loved ones, and to the Russian people." British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: "As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Navalny's death a "tragedy" and said it exposed Russian President Vladimir Putin as "a monster." "It really shows the extent to which Putin has (or) will crack down on anyone who is fighting for freedom for the Russian people," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday said that he was "shocked" by the death of Navalny. "Shocked by the news of the death in prison of Alexei Navalny, unjustly imprisoned by the Putin regime for his defense of human rights and democracy. My condolences to his family and friends and to all those in Russia who defend democratic values and pay for it the highest of prices,” Former president Barack Obama said, Navalny was a fearless advocate for his beliefs who died unbroken by the tyranny he opposed. He fought corruption, inspired millions and never wavered in his insistence on free expression, the rule of law, and a Russia that is accountable to the people and not a dictator. Navalny wore many hats. He was a lawyer, blogger, anti-corruption campaigner, political activist all of which led to a direct confrontation with the regime of Russian president Vladmir Putin. Navalny, was a man of principle and integrity who sought to educate the Russian people on the systemic and entrenched culture of corruption that now characterizes the Russian state under the iron-fist rule of Putin. The Novichok Poisoning. The first time Navalny suspected he had been poisoned, he was in prison serving a sentence for calling for unauthorized protests. Then 43, he was taken to hospital with a swollen face, eye problems and rashes on his body. At the time, reports suggested it was an allergic reaction - something he and his doctor were quick to question. Officially, he was diagnosed with "contact dermatitis". Navalny - who had previously suffered chemical burns to an eye after been targeted with antiseptic green dye in 2017 - later wrote that the doctors who treated him acted "like they had something to hide". But it was the second alleged poisoning a year later which really caught the attention of the international media. In August 2020, Navalny collapsed on a flight over Siberia and was rushed to hospital in Omsk. That emergency landing saved his life. A German-based charity persuaded Russian officials to allow him to be airlifted to Berlin for treatment. In Pursuit of Democracy. Navalny was a staunch advocate for democracy and human rights. He used his resources and various social media platforms to expose the tyrannical and oppressive rule of Putin. By doing so Navalny became public enemy number 1 for Putin and his supporters. Nothing happens in Russia without the knowledge of Putin and it is logical to conclude that Putin was very much aware of Navalny’s death before it was announced to the world. Even in death Navalny makes Putin very much uncomfortable. One cannot kill a movement. The movement for democracy in Russia and other authoritarian regimes such as Belarus will continue. Putin cannot rule forever. The youth of Russia who identify so much with Navalny undoubtedly will carry on the work of Alexei Navalny. Democracy will prevail. Alexei Navalny died on February 16th; however, his body was not handed over to his mother until February 24th, more than a week later. Navalny was buried on March1, 2024. The coffin of Alexei Navalny was taken from the Soothe My Sorrows Church to the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery for burial. In the words of Harry Truman, once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #AlexeiNavalny #Russia #Democracy