1 year ago
46
MOSCOW -- Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against authoritative corruption and staged monolithic anti-Kremlin protests, died successful situation Friday, Russia's situation bureau said. He was 47.
The Federal Penitentiary Service said successful a connection that Navalny felt unwell aft a locomotion connected Friday and mislaid consciousness. An ambulance arrived to effort to rehabilitate him, but helium died.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says Putin was informed of Navalny's decease and the situation work was looking into the decease successful enactment with modular procedures.
Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said connected X, the level formerly known arsenic Twitter, that the politician's squad had nary confirmation of his decease truthful acold and that his lawyer was traveling to the municipality wherever helium was held.
Navalny, who was serving a 19-year condemnation connected charges of extremism, was moved successful December from his erstwhile situation successful the Vladimir portion of cardinal Russia to to a "special regime" penal colony - the highest information level of prisons successful Russia - supra the Artic Circle.
His allies decried the transportation to a colony successful the municipality of Kharp, successful the Yamalo-Nenets portion astir 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, arsenic yet different effort to unit Navalny into silence.
The distant portion is notorious for agelong and terrible winters. Kharp is astir 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Vorkuta, whose ember mines were portion of the Soviet gulag prison-camp system.
Navalny had been down bars since January 2021, erstwhile helium returned to Moscow aft recuperating successful Germany from nervus cause poisoning that helium blamed connected the Kremlin. Before his arrest, helium campaigned against authoritative corruption, organized large anti-Kremlin protests and ran for nationalist office.
He had since received 3 situation sentences, each of which helium rejected arsenic politically motivated.
In Putin's Russia, governmental opponents often faded amid factional disputes oregon went into exile aft imprisonment, suspected poisonings oregon different dense repression. But Navalny grew consistently stronger and reached the apex of the absorption done grit, bravado and an acute knowing of however societal media could circumvent the Kremlin's suffocation of autarkic quality outlets.
He faced each setback - whether it was a carnal battle oregon imprisonment - with an aggravated devotion, confronting dangers with a sardonic wit. That drove him to the bold and fateful determination of returning from Germany to Russia and definite arrest.
Navalny was calved successful Butyn, astir 40 kilometers (25 miles) extracurricular Moscow. He received a instrumentality grade from People's Friendship University successful 1998 and did a fellowship astatine Yale successful 2010.
He gained attraction by focusing connected corruption successful Russia's murky premix of politicians and businesses; 1 of his aboriginal moves was to bargain a involvement successful Russian lipid and state companies to go an activistic shareholder and propulsion for transparency. By concentrating connected corruption, Navalny's enactment had a pocketbook entreaty to Russians' wide consciousness of being cheated, and helium carried stronger resonance than much abstract and philosophical concerns astir antiauthoritarian ideals and quality rights.
He was convicted successful 2013 of embezzlement connected what helium called a politically motivated prosecution and was sentenced to 5 years successful prison, but the prosecutor's bureau aboriginal amazingly demanded his merchandise pending appeal. A higher tribunal aboriginal gave him a suspended sentence.
The time earlier the sentence, Navalny had registered arsenic a campaigner for Moscow mayor. The absorption saw his merchandise arsenic the effect of ample protests successful the superior of his sentence, but galore observers attributed it to a tendency by authorities to adhd a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election.
Navalny finished second, an awesome show against the incumbent who had the backing of Putin's governmental instrumentality and was fashionable for improving the capital's infrastructure and aesthetics.
Navalny's popularity accrued aft the starring charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was changeable and killed successful 2015 connected a span adjacent the Kremlin.
Whenever Putin spoke astir Navalny, helium made it a constituent to ne'er notation the activistic by name, referring to him arsenic "that person" oregon akin wording, successful an evident effort to diminish his importance.
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