Navalny is dead. What was the russian oppositionist remembered for and why was he never a friend of Ukraine?
Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who served several years in prison, died on 16 February in penal colony No. 3. Read more about the politician's version of death and what his team is saying
On 16 February, the Federal Penitentiary Service of the russian federation announced the death of Alexei Navalny, one of russia's most prominent opposition politicians in recent times. He died in penal colony No. 3 three years after his arrest.
According to the information spread by russian media, Navalny "suffered a blood clot". At the same time, the politician's team has yet to confirm the death of their leader, and his lawyer flew to the village of Kharp, where Navalny was serving his sentence.
What is known about Navalny and his activities
Navalny's political career began in the early 2000s. During this time, he tried to fight corruption in russia and conducted many investigations, including those against dictator vladimir putin.
Against the backdrop of his active political work, as well as the sympathy of many russians, the putin regime has repeatedly tried to imprison him. The Kremlin also tried to kill Navalny in 2020, when the politician was poisoned with Novichok.
After a coma and lengthy treatment abroad, the oppositionist decided to return to russia. On the plane before he left for his homeland, Navalny, when asked by journalists, said that his "arrest is impossible". Immediately upon his arrival in Moscow, he was detained by security forces and then imprisoned. In total, the court sentenced Navalny to around 30 years in prison.
Famous investigations by Navalny's team
One of the most high-profile investigations by the opposition leader's team was the putin's Palace story, where a group of investigators published photos and diagrams of putin's huge country residence in Gelendzhik. The world then learned about the russian dictator's favourite pastimes, such as stripping, casinos and an aqua disco.
The politician's team also discovered Medvedev's Mysterious Island and putin's luxury yacht Scheherazade, worth 75 million rubles.
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Navalny's position on Ukraine
Navalny's attitudes towards Ukraine have been controversial. His stance on the occupation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine drew criticism in Ukrainian society. Many Ukrainians considered his stance to be insufficiently firm and accused him of excessive evasion of condemning russian aggression. Navalny advocated the principles of peaceful negotiations and diplomacy, which caused dissatisfaction among those who expected more decisive action.
One of the factors influencing Navalny's relations with Ukraine was also his 2017 campaign, when he announced his participation in the presidential election. He was accused of trying to undermine Ukrainian democracy by playing to the Kremlin's strengths and pursuing his own political ambitions.
His relations with Ukraine remained problematic and never reached the stage of trust and understanding. Therefore, it is also impossible to say that Ukraine and Ukrainian society considered Navalny a "good russian".
Reactions to Navalny's death in Ukraine
While on a visit to Germany, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy answered journalists' questions about the death of the russian oppositionist as follows:
"It has just become known that Alexei Navalny has died in a russian prison. Obviously, he was killed by putin, like thousands of others who were tortured, tortured because of this one creature. putin doesn't care who dies, as long as he retains his position," the Ukrainian leader said.
The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, also commented on the news, saying that putin is the ultimate evil who is afraid of any competition. The lives of russians are nothing to him."
We remind you! Dictator putin could have died at his residence on 26 October, but there is no substantiated evidence of this. We will tell you who benefits from spreading this information and what the Ukrainian intelligence community says here.
Photo: Sefa Karacan / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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