Putin Critic Dies In Prison

(RepublicanReport.org) – Alexei Navalny was a Russian man who was extremely and publicly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Not only that, but he was trying to gather support amongst the Russian people to challenge Putin and lead the country. But that vision would not come true. In 2020, Navalny was poisoned, allegedly by Putin, and thrown in jail in 2021 for passport violations. In 2023, the Russian courts sentenced him to 19 years for supporting “extremism,” but he wouldn’t live to serve out his term behind bars.

On February 16, Newsmax reported that Navalny collapsed at a penal colony near the Arctic Circle and died. The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District stated the Putin critic “felt unwell” after a walk and suddenly lost consciousness. The statement released by the prison also said emergency services tried to resuscitate him, to no avail. World leaders and the Russian people reacted strongly to the news. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly said it was “obvious” that Putin killed Navalny, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his death was an example of “what kind of regime” the Kremlin is.

Navalny’s chief of staff, Leonid Volkov, stated on social media that the headline shouldn’t read “Navalny died,” but it should say “Putin killed Navalny.” While President Joe Biden (D) didn’t go so far as to say Putin murdered Navalny, he did say the Russian president was at least “responsible” for his death. In January 2022, the movie entitled “Navalny” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. When asked in the trailer what message Navalny wanted to send to the Russian people if he was killed, he simply said, “Never give up.”

The day after his suspicious death, NPR reported that Navalny’s mother was told her son died from “sudden death syndrome,” but she couldn’t locate his body to bring him home. Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh reportedly said it was obvious that authorities were giving his family the run around to “avoid handing over the body.”