Death of and Opposition Leader

At 2:17pm on Friday February 16, 2024, Alexei Navalny died.

Born in 1976 in Butyn’ Russia, Alexei Navalny was a Russian lawyer who became one of the most prominent opposition leaders against the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. He graduated from Russia's RUDN university with a law degree in 1997 and again in 2001 with an economic degree while working as a lawyer. After graduating with his second degree, he started many organizations including one against the overdevelopment of Moscow and RosPil, an anti-corruption organization run by a team of lawyers. Navalny used blog platforms and RosPil to analyze the “spending of state agencies and companies” (BURROWS & LITVINOVA, 2024) and contest them in court according to Associated Press News. However, in 2011, Navalny’s main platform for criticizing the Russian political elite came when he established The Foundation for Fighting Corruption or The Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF). Shortly after the ACF was created, Navalny led protests over claims that the preliminary election that would lead to Putin's reelection in 2012 was rigged. Navalny also pointed to former deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov and head of the Chechnya Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, as being corrupt. The protests and allegations lead to his first 15 day imprisonment.

In addition to being jailed numerous times, Navalny has also had attempts made on his life. In April 2017, an unknown person, who Navalny claims was someone associated with the Russian government, threw disinfectant in his face, damaging his eye. In August 2020, Navalny fell ill under what was later confirmed to be a Soviet-era nerve agent. He was hospitalized in a coma. In 2023, over 400 doctors signed a letter to Putin, voicing their concerns about his lack of basic medical help after a case of the flu. They also suspected he was slowly being poisoned due to his stomach pain.

While in jail at penal colony 6, he was tried for terrorism and extremism. He was convicted and sentenced to 19 more years in prison. In December of 2023, Navalny continued to criticize Putin and his war on Ukraine from jail. After no word from him for many days, on December 25, 2023, Navanly’s allies said he was moved to a Prison Colony north of the arctic circle, 100 kilometers from V​​orkuta, a town that was notorious for having some of the harshest Soviet Gulag prisons.

Despite his death, Navalny will continue to represent opposition to the corrupt and harsh policies and actions of the Russian government and his legacy is being carried by his mother, wife, two children and thousands of supporters. Many of these people have continued to speak out against the Kremlin in the days and weeks following Navalny’s death, pushing for political change in the country.

Through legal battles, prison sentences, political campaigns and assassination attempts, Alexei Navalny continued to be a staunch and vocal denouncer of Putin until he died at the age of 47.