Yulia Navalnaya: “Lyosha, thank you for 26 years of pure happiness. Even the last 3 years. For your love, your support, making me laugh even from prison and always thinking about me. I don’t know how to live without you, but I’ll try to make you happy and proud of me up there.” https://t.co/OzOmgejipo

— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 1, 2024

UPDATE, MAR 1:

Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader who died in an Arctic penal colony on February 16, has been honoured ina memorial service in Moscow.

About 1,000 mourners had gathered 90 minutes before the funeral. The crowd defied balaclava-clad, camouflage-wearing riot police outside the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, in Moscow’s southeast Maryino district. They passed through dozens of crash barriers, with police cars parked nearby.

As the coffin was taken from a hearse, the crowd applauded and chanted, “Navalny! Navalny!”

Crowds shout “Navalny” as the hears carrying Navalny’s body arrives to the church pic.twitter.com/6F2TDpCfAS

— Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) March 1, 2024

Those paying respect included the Norwegian Ambassador and Antonio Tajani, the Italian Embassy’s chargé d’affaires.

Several Navalny supporters were detained as they left their apartments to attend the funeral. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned, “Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law, and those who participate in them will be held accountable – again, in line with the current law.”

Maria, 55, a librarian, said she was both “afraid and sad”: “We just don’t have any more politicians like him.”

Maxim, 43, an IT specialist“, said, “I don’t see anything illegal in coming to say goodbye to a great man.”

And Ivan explained:

I feel pain, like any other person who came here. I have come to say bye to a real leader. He was the best of us. He told us not to be scared, and it’s our duty to be here. I am not scared. My fear had evaporated a long time ago.

A long line has formed before the entry to the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows where Navalny’s memorial service will take place in just under two hours https://t.co/G0oJtu1awh pic.twitter.com/IcVHLDI7CQ

— Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) March 1, 2024

UPDATE, FEB 28:

Alexei Navalny will finally be buried on Friday afternoon in Moscow.

Supporters of Navalny had great difficulty finding a venue that would host the funeral (see blow). The Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, in Moscow’s southeast Maryino district, finally agreed, with burial at the nearby Borisovskoye cemetery.

UPDATE, FEB 27:

Supporters of Alexei Navalny cannot find a venue willing to let people pay their respects to the late opposition leader.

Since yesterday we have been looking for a place where we can organize a farewell event for Alexey. We have called most of the private and public funeral agencies, commercial venues and funeral halls.

Some of them say the place is fully booked. Some refuse when we mention the…

— Кира Ярмыш (@Kira_Yarmysh) February 27, 2024

Russian authorities initially refused to release Navalny’s body to his mother without a guarantee that there would be no public ceremony.

UPDATE, FEB 26:

Joining the European Union and the US, Australia has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Russian prison officials over the death of Alexei Navalny.

“Australia holds President Putin and the Russian Government responsible for Mr Navalny’s treatment and death in custody,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said in a statement.

UPDATE 1803 GMT:

The body of Alexei Navalny has finally been given to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya.

Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said:

Alexey’s body was given to his mother. Thank you very much to everyone who demanded this with us. While Lyudmila Ivanovna is in Salekhard. The funeral is yet to come. We don’t know whether the authorities will interfere with carrying them out the way the family wants and as Alexey deserves. We will report information as it becomes available.

UPDATE, FEB 24:

In a six-minute YouTube video, Alexei Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya has demanded that Russian authorities release her husband’s body for burial.

Navalnaya said a “demonic” Vladimir Putin was “torturing” the decomposing body and holding it “hostage”.

We already knew that Putin’s faith was fake. But now we see it more clearly than ever before. No true Christian could ever do what Putin is now doing with Alexei’s body.

UPDATE, FEB 23:

The spokesperson for Alexey Navalny, Kira Yarmysh, says:

An hour ago, an investigator called Alexey’s mother [Lyudmila Navalnaya] and gave her an ultimatum. Either she agrees to a secret funeral without a public farewell within three hours, or Alexey will be buried in a colony.

She refused to negotiate with the Investigative Committee because they do not have the authority to decide how and where she should bury her son.

UPDATE, FEB 22:

Alexei Navalny’s mother Lyudmila Navalnaya has finally been able to see the body of her son.

However, Navalnaya said Russian investigators are “blackmailing” her, trying to force her to hold a private burial ceremony without mourners.

UPDATE 1453 GMT:

The UK has imposed sanctions on six Russian officials in charge of the Arctic penal colony where Alexei Navalny died.

The head and five deputy heads will be banned from the UK and their assets will be frozen.

The UK Foreign Office said the men have been cited for “activity that violates the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment and the right to life”.

UPDATE, FEB 21:

The mother of Alexei Navalny, Lyudmila Navalnaya, has filed a lawsuit over the “inaction of the [Russia] Investigative Committee to release Alexei’s body” (see February 20 Update).

Russian State media reported on Wednesday that the city court of Salekhard in the Arctic Circle, about 30 miles from where Navalny was imprisoned, received “a complaint” from Navalnaya about “illegal actions and decisions”. It did not give details.

The court said the closed-door hearing is scheduled on March 4.

UPDATE 1848 GMT:

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has told reporters:

At President Biden’s direction, we will be announcing a major sanctions package on Friday of this week to hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr Navalny.

Whatever story the Russian government decides to tell the world, it’s clear President Putin and his government are responsible.

Absent some credible investigation into his death, it’s hard to get to a point where we can just take the Russians’ word for it. We’re calling for complete transparency by the Russian government for how he died.

President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters as he left for a fundraiser in California, confirmed the forthcoming sanctions without giving details.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the measrues will target Russia’s “defense industrial base and sources of revenue for the economy”.

UPDATE, FEB 20:

Alexei Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, has said in a video message, “Vladimir Putin…let me finally see my son.”

Russian officials have refused to release Navalny’s body or to tell Navalnaya where it is.

pic.twitter.com/I2HT2ViiJT

— Yulia Navalnaya (@yulia_navalnaya) February 20, 2024

UPDATE, FEB 19:

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, has told European foreign ministers in Brussels in a video message that she will continue his work.

“I want to live in a free Russia, I want to build a free Russia,” Navalnaya assured. She added:

Vladimir Putin killed my husband.

By killing Alexei, Putin killed half of me – half of my heart and half of my soul.

But I still have the other half, and it tells me that I have no right to give up. I will…continue to fight for our country.

Navalny's widow Yulia:
"I will continue Alexei Navalny's work. Continue to fight for our country together with you…Against war and corruption…And I urge you to stand beside me."
Yulia that she "knows why Putin killed Alexei" and "will soon tell about it" pic.twitter.com/jBEM5M2faf

— Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) February 19, 2024

EA-Times Radio Special: Killing of Navalny Highlights Failure of Putin’s “Ukraine Gamble”

EA on Times Radio: Week in Review — Putin-Navalny; Ukraine; AI…and Beyoncé Goes Country

UPDATE, FEB 18:

Russian Orthodox Archbishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko, detained in St. Petersburg because of his intention to hold a memorial service for Alexei Navalny, has suffered a stroke in custody.

Boris Vishnevsky, a legislator in St. Petersburg, said the cleric has been hospitalized after his lawyer called an ambulance to the police station.

The priest had planned to hold a memorial service for Navalny at the Solovetsky Stone, a monument in Moscow to the victims of political repression.

Russian authorities have detained 401 people at Navalny rallies since Friday, according to human rights organization OVD-Info.

More than 200 were seized in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second city. Forty-two must serve from one to six days in jail, and nine were fined.

In Moscow, at least six people were ordered to serve 15 days in jail. One person was imprisoned in the southern city of Krasnodar and two more in Bryanskn near the Ukraine border.

UPDATE 1846 GMT:

The number of people detained at memorials to Alexei Navalny has risen to more than 340 in at least 32 Russian cities, according to human rights organisation OVD-Info.

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UPDATE 1102 GMT:

Alexei Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh confirms his death:

Alexey Navalny was murdered. His death occurred on February 16 at 2:17 p.m. local time, according to the official message to Alexey’s mother.

An employee of the colony said that the body of Navalny is now in Salekhard. It was picked up by investigators from the IC. Now they are…

— Кира Ярмыш (@Kira_Yarmysh) February 17, 2024

UPDATE 1056 GMT:

“Nikolai”, a 22-year-old student in Moscow, responds to the death of Alexei Navalny:

My friends and I are devastated: we lost someone who played a crucial part in our lives….

We’re all chatting together to support each other. He was our hero who united the opposition. Navalny gave us a Russian dream, that maybe in a decade we’d live in a free Russia.

There is still opposition. Although it’s very difficult, there are still people who support Ukraine and want peace negotiations. We love our country and want the best for it.

At the "Wall of Grief" memorial in #Moscow, police brutally detain those who came to honor the memory of Alexei #Navalny. pic.twitter.com/Cezadfh1UX

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 17, 2024

UPDATE 0744 GMT:

Police detained more than 100 people at rallies in memory of Alexei Navalny across Russia on Friday.

Spontaneous memorials appeared in cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Tula, Belgorod, Lipetsk, Pskov, Ufa, Kirov, and Veliky Novgorod.

In Nizhny Novgorod, a crowd gathered near the local offices of the Internal Affairs Ministry, where journalist Irina Slavina committed self-immolation. Twelve people were detained and later released.

In St. Petersburg, police dispersed those who came to the monument to victims of political repression. Ten people, including two journalists, were detained.

There were also detentions, including RusNews journalist Yulia Petrova, as residents laid flowers. Among those taken away was a man carrying a placard with the word “Killers!” and a woman with a poster “Alexei Navalny died today”.

Masked men sweep up the flowers left in Moscow at the memorial to Boris Nemtsov, killed outside the Kremlin in 2015, after Navalny’s death. One wonders about the self-confidence of a regime that has destroyed all opposition and dissent but still sends security services to do this https://t.co/im0T3YFkbH

— max seddon (@maxseddon) February 17, 2024

UPDATE, FEB 17:

A “former senior Kremlin official” has told The Moscow Times about the demise of Alexei Navalny, “There [in the Kremlin] they wanted him dead. So it happened.”

A Russian government official said, “It was expected that this would happen and that Navalny would not come out of prison.”

However, he played down the possibility of foul play as the imprisonment of Navalny meant he “did not pose any threat” to Vladimir Putin.

“Everyone has long forgotten about him,” he asserted.

UPDATE 1816 GMT:

While Vladimir Putin remains silent about Alexei Navalny’s death, the Speaker of Russia’s Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, has offered a novel explanation: “Washington and Brussels are to blame”.

Volodin gave no evidence as he postured:

Who benefits from Navalny’s death?

From the Secretary General of NATO and the US leadership to [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz, [UK Prime Minister Rishi] Sunak and [Ukraine President Volodymyr] Zelenskiy – these are the perpetrators of Navalny’s death.

UPDATE 1759 GMT:

US President Joe Biden has said:

Make no mistake. Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death….

What has happened and evolving is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should fooled, not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world. Putin does not only target citizens of other countries, as we seen in what’s going on in Ukraine right now, he also inflicts terrible crimes of his own people.

He paid tribute to Navalny:

He was so many things that Putin was not. He was brave. He was principled…dedicated to building a Russia where a rule of law existed and was applied everywhere, and to an evolving belief that Russia, as he knew it, was a cause worth fighting for.

In a joint statement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and foreign policy head Josep Borrell said:

He was slowly murdered by President Putin and his regime, who fear nothing more than dissent from their own people.

We will spare no efforts to hold the Russian political leadership and authorities to account.

Borrell added:

Met Yulia Navalnya to express EU solidarity in this horrible moment.

Despite not having been allowed to visit @navalny for years after politically motivated rulings & his unjustified detention, Yulia’s spirit is unbreakable. Putin is responsible for murder & will be accountable.

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) February 16, 2024

UPDATE 1539 GMT:

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk posts simply:

Alexey, we will never forget you. And we will never forgive them.

— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) February 16, 2024

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told CBC Radio,”[This] is a tragedy and it’s something that has the entire world being reminded of exactly what a monster Putin is.”

UPDATE 1526 GMT:

Yulia Navalnaya has spoken to the Munich Security Conference about the death of her husband:

Putin, his friends and his government should know that they’ll be held responsible for what they’ve done to our country, my family and my husband. That day will come very soon.

She concluded, “We should fight this horrific regime in Russia today. This regime and Vladimir Putin should be personally held responsible for all the atrocities they have committed in our country the last year.”

The audience then rose in a standing ovation.

UPDATE 1520 GMT:

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has added to the condolences for Alexei Navalny and the criticism of the Kremlin:

I am deeply saddened by the death of Alexei Navalny. He stood up for democracy and freedom in Russia – and apparently paid for his courage with his life. This terrible news shows once again how Russia has changed and what kind of regime is in power in Moscow.

— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) February 16, 2024

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Navalny’s “death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this.”

Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly noted a “painful reminder of Putin’s continued oppressive regime”, and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has left no doubt about responsibility:

Navalny fought bravely against corruption.

Putin’s Russia fabricated charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an arctic penal colony & now he has tragically died.

Putin should be accountable for what has happened – no one should doubt the dreadful nature of his regime.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) February 16, 2024

European Union foreign policy head Josep Borrell echoed:

Shocked by media reports of the death of Alexey Navalny, a very brave man who dedicated his life to save the honour of Russia, giving hope to democrats & civil society.

While awaiting further information, let’s be clear: this is Putin’s sole responsibility. https://t.co/zabZOOknQD

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) February 16, 2024

ORIGINAL ENTRY, FEB 16: Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny has died in a prison in Siberia.

On Friday the Russian prison service announced the death of Navalny, 47:

He felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out but did not yield positive results. The paramedics confirmed the death of the convict.

The cause of death had not been established, the service said.

Navalny, a persistent critic of Vladmir Putin and the Kremlink, survived an assassination attempt by Novichok nerve agent in 2020. He was detained upon return from Germany by Russian authorities and soon sentenced to more than 30 years in a penal colony.

The activist was transferred in December to a prison about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle. He was treated in hospital after complaining of malnourishment and other ailments, and in a video from the prison in January, he appeared gaunt with his head shaved.

But Navalny appeared to be healthy in a video apperance for a courtroom appeal on Thursday. He spoke about the frequent fines imposed upon him in prison, asking the judge to send him some money “as my own is running out thanks to your decisions”.

Yesterday Navalny looked to be fine during a court hearing where he spoke via video link from his penal colony pic.twitter.com/e8HoAnWsQB

— Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) February 16, 2024

His attorney Leonid Solovyev said, “Alexei had a lawyer at his place on Wednesday. Everything was normal then.”

On Wednesday, Navalny’s team published an Instagram post dedicated to his wife: “I feel that you are close to me every second and I love you more and more.”

The Kremlin said Putin had been informed of his opponent’s death but had no further information.

Navalny was instrumental in 2011-12 protests in Russia, campaigning against election fraud and government corruption. He investigated Putin and his inner circle, disseminating the findings in videos that had hundreds of millions of views.

In 2013, Navalny won 27% of the vote in Moscow’s mayoral contest despite the widespread belief that the election was manipulated.

Despite threats on his life, he continued to pursue investigations. The videos included a palace built on the Black Sea for Putin’s personal use, mansions and yachts used by former President Dmitry Medvedev, and the testimony of a sex worker who linked a top foreign policy official with a well-known oligarch.

In 2020, Navalny fell into a coma after the Novichok poisoning by Russia’s FSB State security service. He was evacuated to Germany for treatment. When he returned in January 2021, he was arrested on a parole violation charge and sentenced to the first of several prison terms.

His death comes a month before a stage-managed election giving Putin another Presidential term.

“Putin Tortured Him to Death”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock posted, “Like no one else, Alexei Navalny was a symbol for a free and democratic Russia. That is precisely the reason he had to die.”

Finance Minister Christian Lindner added, “Alexei Navalny fought for a democratic Russia. For that, Putin tortured him to death.”

European Council President Charles Michel said:

Alexei @navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice.

The EU holds the Russian regime for sole responsible for this tragic death.

I extend my deepest condolences to his family. And to those who fight for democracy around…

— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) February 16, 2024

Condemnation also came from Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský — “Russia has turned into a violent state that kills people who dream of a better future” — Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, prime minister of Latvia — “Putin’s regime imprisoned and has now tortured to death one of the last symbols of democracy in Russia” — and Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs:

Whatever your thoughts about Alexey @Navalny as the politician, he was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin. That’s a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russia’s current regime. My condolences to the family and friends.

— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) February 16, 2024