Aleksei Navalny, Russian Opposition Leader, Dies in Prison at 47

Aleksei A. Navalny, a known activist and staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, passed away on Friday in a federal confinement where he was shifted in 2023.

Kremlin’s Federal Penitentiary Service announced Navalny’s untimely death as the man reportedly lost consciousness after strolling inside prison where he was moved late last year. The deceased made last appearance in a video link, for court hearing.

Medical staff had been called, but they were unable to resuscitate Navalny, it added. It said the reason for death was being established.

The Kremlin stated it lacks details regarding the cause of Alexei Navalny’s death. In early December, Navalny disappeared from a Vladimir region prison, where he served a 30-year term for extremism and fraud charges, deeming them political retaliation for leading anti-Kremlin opposition in the 2010s.

Not anticipating a release in Putin’s lifetime, Navalny, a former nationalist politician, played a pivotal role in the 2011-12 Russian protests, exposing election fraud, and government corruption, and scrutinizing Putin’s inner circle through widely viewed videos.

His political zenith in 2013 saw a Moscow mayoral bid, challenging the presumed unfairness. Remaining a Kremlin irritant, Navalny uncovered a Black Sea palace for Putin, properties linked to ex-president Medvedev, and connections between a top foreign policy official and a notable oligarch.

Surviving a 2020 novichok poisoning, Navalny faced multiple jail terms upon his return to Russia in 2021, coinciding with Putin’s bid for a fifth term. Putin’s potential continuation beyond 2030 looms as he alters term limits in 2020.