Russia’s Alexei Navalny dies at the age of 47

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died, the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he was serving his sentence said on Friday. He was 47 years old.

In a statement published on its website, the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District said Navalny “felt unwell” after taking a walk on Friday and “almost immediately lost consciousness.”

It said medical staff were called, but they were unable to revive Navalny. It said the cause of death was being established.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has begun a procedural investigation into the death.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed about Navalny’s death.

WATCH l After days of mystery, Navalny confirmed going to jail in December:

Putin critic Alexei Navalny transferred to prison north of the Arctic Circle

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny confirmed on Tuesday that he has been transferred to a prison north of the Arctic Circle. He says on social media that despite the 20-day journey, he is in a very good mood.

Navalny’s work to expose corrupt elites had pocketbook appeal to the Russian people’s widespread feeling of being duped. Russia’s state-controlled television channels ignored Navalny, but his investigations of dubious contracts and officials’ luxury lifestyles attracted widespread attention through YouTube videos and back channels of social media posts, often highlighting his sarcastic sense of humor. Was showing.

In 2013, he finished second in the race for Moscow mayor, behind a candidate from Putin’s power-base United Russia party. This established him as a formidable force and concern for the Kremlin.

Refuse to run for president

Navalny had intended to run for president in 2018, but was kept from the ballot due to his previous criminal convictions, which his supporters said was politically motivated.

He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from nerve agent poisoning, which he blamed on the Kremlin – a charge rejected by Russian authorities. The following month, Navalny was ordered to serve two and a half years in prison for violating the terms of a suspended sentence from a 2014 embezzlement conviction.

His arrest and jailing sparked a wave of massive protests across Russia’s 11 time zones, proving a major challenge for the Kremlin. Authorities responded with mass arrests of protesters and criminal prosecution of Navalny’s closest associates.

He has since been sentenced in several other cases, including a 19-year sentence on extremism charges, and in prison reshuffles across the country.

The politician’s anti-corruption foundation has since been banned by Russian authorities as an extremist group.

Navalny is survived by his wife Yulia Navalnaya, an adult daughter and a teenage son.

A 2022 documentary on his life, NavalnyThe film was directed by Canadian Daniel Rohr and won an Academy Award in its category.