The Kremlin's best known critic, Alexei Navalni, was murdered on February 16, 2024 in the IK-3 prison (also known as "Polar Wolf") in Kharp, Yamalia-Nenetsia Autonomous Okrug, where he was being held, according to Russian penitentiary sources. His death occurred one month before the presidential elections, considered a formality to prolong the government held by Vladimir Putin since 1999.
Assassination of Alexei Navalny
Navalni, who was 47 when he died, had led campaigns against corruption in Russia and led mass protests against the Kremlin. He was serving a 19-year prison sentence on charges of extremism in a remote prison. He went on a 24-day hunger strike in prison to protest against the mistreatment he suffered there. According to the Russian Penitentiary Service, he felt unwell after a walk, lost consciousness and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
According to Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Navalni's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, said on Facebook that she had seen her son in prison on Feb. 12 and that he was "alive, healthy and happy.". Upon hearing the news, several European leaders lamented Navalni's death and blamed the Russian government for the tragedy. Among the leaders were the President of the European Council, Charles Michel; NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg; Joe Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan; and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, among others. The UN expressed its outrage and demanded an end to persecution in Russia.
Thousands of people took to the streets around the world to protest Navalni's death, which added to the list of mysterious unsolved deaths in Russia. More than a year after his assassination, there has been silence about this new Putin crime.
In the book of memoirs edited by his family ("Patriot. Memoirs" Alexei Navalni, Peninsula 2024), the Russian dissident states from the prison where he spent the last 3 years of his life: "On my birthday, of course I would like to have breakfast with my family, have my children kiss me on the cheek, unwrap presents and say: 'Oh, that's just what I wanted,' instead of waking up in this infectious hole. But, as life works, social progress and a better future can only be achieved if a certain number of people are willing to pay a price for the right to have their own convictions. The more such people there are, the less everyone will have to pay. And the day will come when speaking the truth and advocating for justice will be the most normal thing in Russia and there will be nothing dangerous about it.".
Origins
Born on June 4, 1976 in Odintsovo (Moscow Oblast, RSFSR of Russia, Soviet Union), Navalni was a Russian lawyer, politician, activist and political prisoner, who in 2011 founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience and he was awarded the Sakharov Prize for his human rights work. He suffered several convictions and imprisonments and a poisoning attempt in 2020, from which he was saved in a Berlin hospital. In the 2013 Moscow mayoral election, he won 27.24 % of the vote and was never allowed to run for election in Russia again.
Married since 2000 to Yulia Navalnya and with two children, Dasha, 24, and Zakhar, 18, Navalni could have chosen to go into exile from Russia with his family and lead a peaceful existence, but he chose in agreement with his wife to get into trouble and - aware of the danger he was running - to risk his life in his fight against injustice in his beloved country. Realizing that, when the USSR collapsed, power in Russia passed from some criminals to others, from Yeltsin to Putin, he decided to confront these criminals by denouncing their practices and conveying the truth to his compatriots.
In one of the multiple pseudo-legal proceedings against him, Navalni stated: "The fact is that I am a religious man, which constantly exposes me to ridicule at the Anti-Corruption Foundation and from the people around me, mostly atheists. I used to be one too, and quite militant. But now I am a believer and I find that it helps me a lot in my work. Everything is clearer to me... For the Bible says: 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied'.". For more than a month, the only book he was left with in prison was the Bible. At that time, Navalni decided to memorize the Sermon on the Mount in Russian, English, French and Latin. After doing so, one day the prisoners were offered to attend Mass and our hero was impressed that the Gospel they read there was precisely the Sermon on the Mount.
Alexei Navalny and the search for the Kingdom of God
Navalni ends his memoirs with the following sentences: "I have always thought, and I say it openly, that being a believer makes life easier for you and even easier to be a political dissident. Faith makes life easier... are you a disciple of the religion whose founder sacrificed himself for others and paid for their sins? Do you believe in the immortality of the soul and everything else? If you can honestly answer yes, what else do you have to worry about, why would you mutter a hundred times under your breath something you have read from a voluminous tome you keep on your bedside table? 'Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worry'. My job is to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and let the good Jesus and the rest of his family take care of everything else. They will not let me down and will solve all my headaches. As they say here in prison, they'll take the hits for me.".
Alexei Navalny knew that he could be assassinated, but he was not crazy or reckless. He tried to minimize the risks for himself and his family, but in his inner self he thought he was doing what he had to do, the purpose of his life was never to live quietly and comfortably but to fight to the death for a Russia where people are not killed for their ideas, a prosperous and democratic country, where the law prevails and not the tyrant of the day to defend his privileges. For this he was assassinated and for this he offered his life in sacrifice.
