Alexei Navalny, 47, died in one of the prisons of the Russian territory, after he was sentenced to 19 years in prison for creating and financing a community that was against the tyranny of Vladimir Putin in Russia. His death sparked a series of protests in the country, resulting in arrests of demonstrators.
According to the Russian Prison Service, Alexei died after losing consciousness while returning from a walk. He did not feel well, the authorities claim, and despite receiving first aid, he still did not manage to live. The death was recorded in the "Polar Wolf" prison near the Arctic, where he was serving his sentence.
Immediately, world leaders accused Vladimir Putin of eliminating Navalny. His death occurred 1 month before the March 17 elections in Russia.
But who was Alexei Navalny?
Born on June 4, 1976, in Butyn, Russia, Alexei is considered the biggest critic and challenger of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. He was pro-democracy and was arrested several times by the Russian authorities. Although his death shocked people, again, Navalny knew he could die behind bars.
He finished his studies at the University of "Friendship of the Peoples of Russia" in Moscow and received a law degree in 1998. In 2000, Alexei, still a student, joined the political party with a democratic and liberal tendency, named "YABLOKO". . 6 years later, he was expelled from the party, with the claim that he had damaged the party with "nationalist activities", including for participating in a far-right march. Navalny himself said that he was expelled because of character clashes with the party leader.
In 2008, he launched an anti-corruption campaign in Russia, documenting all his efforts in a blog that quickly became very popular. 2 years later, through a website, he published the corrupt contracts awarded by the state. His initiative went further, as it also involved citizens, who could anonymously publish similar cases and discuss online.
Also spurred on by Navalny's work, Russians, in 2011, united in one of the largest protests since the fall of the Soviet Union, protesting irregularities in the country's parliamentary elections. Navalny created a party, which was widely supported. Although methods of vote manipulation were tried, Putin's party still won less than half of the votes. Navalny was jailed for about 2 weeks after taking part in an illegal protest.
Kështu, afërmendsh, ai u vendos nën shënjestër nga autorietet ruse. Më 17 korrik 2013, Navalny shpalli kandidaturën e tij në garën për kryebashkiak në Moskë. Një ditë më vonë, u dënua me 5 vjet burg, për akuzat se ishte i motivuar politikisht. Për burgosjen e tij, mijëra njerëz protestuan masivisht në rrugët e Rusisë dhe më 19 korrik, ai u lirua.
Më 20 gusht 2020, ai u helmua me Navichok, një agjent nervor i shkallës ushtarake, i zhvilluar nga ish-Bashkimi Sovjetik. Navalny u sëmur rëndë gjatë fluturimit Moskë-Tomsk. Ekipi i tij ia doli ta çonte në spital, pas një uljeje emergjente dhe më pas, u dërgua në një spital në Berlin, ku u shërua. Kremlini, në mënyrë kategorike, mohoi se kishte gisht në këtë ngjarje dhe madje, supozoi se ndoshta Navalny s’ishte helmuar. Analizat e kryera në Francë, Gjermani dhe Suedi konfirmuan helmimin me Navichok.
Opozitari rus ishte shumë i dashur për popullin e vet. Ai i dënua me 19 vite burg në gusht të 2023-shit, pasi e shpallën fajtor për krijimin e një grupimi ekstremist, financimin e këtij grupimi, si dhe pjesëmarrjen në tubime të paligjshme. Ndërkohë, paralelisht vuante edhe dënimin me 11 vite e gjysmë në një burg të sigurisë maksimale për akuza që lidheshin me mashtrimin, të cilat ai i mohonte.
Në 3 vite dënim, Alexei është futur 26 herë në izolim. Katër muaj pas burgimit të tij, avokatët thanë se kishin humbur kontaktet me Navalny-n. Duke qenë se nuk u paraqit në disa nga seancat gjyqësore, u paraqitën 680 kërkesa për ta gjetur zërin më të fortë të kritikës së sistemit në Rusi dhe u deklarua se u gjurmua vendndodhja e tij. Ai ishte në burgun famëkeq “Ujku Polar”, i cili ka kushte të ashpra dhe regjim special.
Vdekja e tij u fsheh nga mediat ruse, por sërish, qytetarët e morën vesh se heroi i tyre kishte ndërruar jetë nga kushte të paqarta dhe të pabesueshme.
Një ditë më parë, kur lajmi qarkulloi nëpër mediat e huaja, gruaja e tij Yulia, u shpreh në Konferencën për Sigurinë e Mynihut: “Nuk e di nëse duhet t’i besoj lajmet e tmerrshme, por nëse është e vërtetë, dua që Putin, stafi, miqtë dhe qeveria e tij ta dinë se do të dënohen për atë që i kanë bërë vendit tonë, familjes dhe bashkëshortit tim. Ata do të dalin para gjyqit dhe kjo ditë është shumë e afërt”.
Lajmi i kobshëm u konfirmua nga zëdhënësi i Alexei, i cili tha se në opozitari kishte ndërruar jetë në orën 14:17 në orën lokale, më 16 shkurt dhe se trupi i tij ndodhet pranë hetuesve. Familja kërkoi që menjëherë t’i kthehet trupi i të ndjerit.
Nëna e tij, Lyudmila, u shpreh se para 4 ditësh, kur e pa për të fundit herë të birin, ai ishte i shëndetshëm dhe i buzëqeshur. “Nuk dua të dëgjoj asnjë ngushëllim”, u shpreh ajo për BBC, ndërkohë që një video nga dita e fundit e jetës së tij është shfaqur, ku ai duket se gëzon shëndet të mirë, madje bën edhe shaka.
Even his lawyer, who had met him 2 days before his death, said that "everything was normal" in his meeting with the client. Leonid Volkov, a friend of the deceased said that there is no reason to believe in state propaganda. “Navalny is not dead; Navalny was killed by Putin and this is the only way to report the news," he said.
Protests have started to grow in Russia.
Homages are also being performed in his honor in the Russian embassies in Europe.
His video stating that if they decide to kill him, it means that he is strong has returned to people's attention.
"If they decide to kill me, it means that we are extremely strong. We must use this power, not give up, remember that we are a great power that is being oppressed by these evil people. We don't realize how strong we really are. The only thing necessary for this evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. So don't be passive," Navalny said at the end of the Academy Award-winning documentary of his name.
Various heads of state have reacted to the strange death of Alexei. Joe Biden, the US president, has directly accused Putin. "There is no doubt, Putin is responsible for the death of Navlany" and added that this is another proof of the Russian president's brutality.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Navalny was the man who exposed the roots and weaknesses of Putin's regime while pointing out that official Russia is responsible for his death.
Even the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, shares the same opinion. "Of course he was killed by Putin. Like thousands of others who have been tortured. This shows why Vladimir Putin should lose everything and take responsibility for his actions", he said.
Garry Kasparov, the chess champion and critic of Putin and the Kremlin, through posts on X said: "Putin is the killer of Navalny", also criticizing Western politicians: "(I have) eternal anger and contempt for Western politicians who treated Navalny's poisoning and imprisonment as just another bargaining chip with Putin," referring to his repeated imprisonment and Novichok poisoning.
Navalny is another name added to the list of Putin opponents dying mysteriously.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner, who attempted a coup in Russia and was one of Putin's most trusted men, died in a plane crash in 2023.
Even Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian agent and staunch critic of the Kremlin, was poisoned in a London hotel in 2006.
