by Mick the Ram

It has been revealed by Russian authorities that opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died at the penal colony north of the Arctic Circle, where he had been moved to at the end of last year.

The 47-year-old fierce critic of Vladimir Putin was reported to have “become unwell” during a walk at the Siberian prison early on Friday 16 February, and fell unconscious. Emergency doctors were apparently called, but the report said he could not be saved and he was declared dead.

No official reason was given for his death, although there has been some suggestion of a blood clot, but that theory was immediately dismissed by western leaders who put the blame firmly at the hands of the Russian president.

Navalny was a campaigner against what he described as “rampant corruption” within his country, and nearly paid for his actions with his life in 2020, when he was poisoned with what Western laboratories later confirmed to be the nerve agent Novichok.

He miraculously survived after intensive treatment in Germany, but on his return to Moscow the following year, he was arrested straight away and had been imprisoned ever since.

Bleak surroundings

Navalny was sharing the IK-3 colony – nicknamed “Polar Wolf” – with convicts who have committed the most serious of crimes. Located in the northern town of Kharp, some 1,900km north-east of Moscow, it is recognised as being amongst the harshest of prisons in the country.

He is understood to have needed to sleep under newspaper just to try and generate some sort of warmth. Although he had lost weight and was looking gaunt with a shaven head, he was in relatively good spirits, and retained his defiance, never abandoning his hope for his “beautiful Russia of the future”.

Link to campaigns?

Some will link the death to the fact that it occurred just a day before the official launching of the campaigns leading into the Russian presidential elections set for 15 to 17 March.

Putin was able to oversee changes to the constitution in 2021 that will allow him to run for two more six-year terms, meaning he could realistically stay in power until 2036.

He is already the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, who died in 1953.

Thorn in the side

For over a decade, Navalny, who was married with two children, has been a thorn in Putin’s side. He exposed large-scale corruption within the Kremlin and was always viewed as a genuine threat with his anti-government street protests.

The activist had planned to run for president back in 2018, but found himself barred from the vote.

Couldn’t stay away

After the attempt on his life many advised him to remain outside of Russia and direct opposition from relative safety. However, that was not something he could contemplate and took his chance to return.

He probably suspected he might face serious problems, but would not have thought that he would never see freedom again after stepping off his flight at Moscow airport in 2021.

The charges brought against him were always widely regarded as being nothing but politically motivated. He initially received a three-and-a-half-year sentence for violating the conditions of a suspended sentence in an embezzlement case.

He was then accused of stealing $4.7m of donations given to his political organisations and his jail time increased to nine years. Then last summer that had a further ten years added when he was found guilty of a flimsy charge of founding and funding an extremist organisation.

International condemnation

Many leading figures have spoken out since hearing the news:

European Council President Charles Michel said that the Russian regime had to bear “sole responsibility” for his “tragic death”. He added: “Fighters die, but the fight for freedom never ends”.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak praised Navalny for “demonstrating incredible courage throughout his life”.

German Chanceller Olaf Scholz said the activist “paid for his courage with his life”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was quick to point the finger at the Russian president, saying: “It is obvious to me that he was killed; Putin does not care who dies as long as he stays in his position and this is why he must hold onto nothing and he must lose everything.”

Touching message

The last post that Navalny put on Instagram was just two days ago, when he sent his wife Yulia a Valentines Day message. It read: “Baby, everything is like in a song with you: there are cities between us, the take-off lights of airfields, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometres, but I feel that you are near every second, and I love you more and more.”