On Friday, February 16, opposition politician Alexei Navalny died in a Russian colony in the Arctic. His death was reported by the Office of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Of course, we shouldn’t mourn the death of an opposition Russian politician who made anti-Ukrainian attacks. However, it must be admitted that among Russians opposed to the Putin regime, Navalny was considered an authority. In addition, he was a personal enemy of Putin, who even tried not to mention his last name. “Apostrophe” looked into how the death of Alexei Navalny would affect the situation in Russia.
Reactions and excuses
As stated by the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of the Russian Federation, where the Polar Owl colony is located in the village of Kharp, where Navalny was serving his sentence, after the walk the prisoner allegedly felt ill and almost immediately lost consciousness. The institution’s medical workers allegedly arrived immediately, and “an ambulance crew was called.” The Federal Penitentiary Service claims that all the necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but did not produce positive results, after which emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict.
Navalny's press secretary Kira Yarmysh immediately noted that she did not yet have any confirmation of this. “Alexey’s lawyer is now flying to Kharp. As soon as we have some information, we will report it,” she wrote on the social network X.
Russian journalist, scientific observer for Radio Liberty, former scientific editor of “Around the World” Sergei Nemalevich drew attention to a number of inconsistencies in the statements of the Federal Penitentiary Service.
“The distance from the Labytnang city hospital to the colony in Kharp is 33 kilometers, according to Google it takes at least half an hour to go. In Kharp itself there is a district hospital, but in 2018, due to the small population of the village, it was turned into a local outpatient clinic and connected to the Aksar city hospital ( from Aksarka to Kharp 113 kilometers). It does not seem that Kharp had its own ambulance station (I could be wrong, I will study further). Of course, the car could have ended up in the village by chance, on another call. Of course, about 7 minutes could be a lie. Other options are also possible. For example, that an ambulance was ready,” he noted on Facebook.
Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that "in accordance with the current rules, the Federal Penitentiary Service deals with all inspections; no special instructions are required." Peskov said that Navalny’s death had already been reported to Putin.
The office of the Investigative Committee of Russia announced an investigation into Navalny’s death.
The death of the Russian opposition politician was also commented on by world leaders who gathered in Munich for the annual security conference.
Statements were made by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili. They all boil down to the fact that Alexei Navalny was killed by Putin’s criminal regime. And the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called for unity “in the fight for the freedom and safety of those who dare to speak out against autocracy.”
Russian human rights activist Eva Merkacheva said that the harsh conditions of detention in the colony could have led to the death of the oppositionist.
“I believe that this could definitely lead to an endless trip to the punishment cell (punishment cell - “Apostrophe”). That is, he was there once, twice, three times, and the count of being in the punishment cell simply went up by dozens. Punishment isolation cells are very difficult conditions of detention. A person there most often freezes, most often starves, in fact. That is why strict requirements were established that it cannot be assigned to him for more than a certain number of days. But there were no restrictions on the number of premises in the punishment cell. That is, one term ends, the person is placed to the detachment, he is immediately called to a new commission, they say that he has a new violation, and on the same day he is sent back to the punishment cell. This is monstrous, you understand? ", noted the human rights activist.
The joy of the Kremlin propagandists
Putin himself has not yet spoken about Navalny’s death, but statements have already been made from the State Duma and the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The pro-Putin United Russia party asked its deputies not to comment on the death of the oppositionist. And Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, called Navalny’s death an “accident.”
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in her boorish manner, blamed the West for Navalny’s death: “The immediate reaction of the leaders of NATO countries to Navalny’s death in the form of direct accusations against Russia is self-exposing. There is no forensic examination yet, but the West’s conclusions are already ready.”
The comments of Kremlin propagandists were also made in a boorish manner and with accusations against the West.
Margarita Simonyan:
“The lukewarm one went all over the bourgeois media... I won’t even begin to explain to them that everyone has long forgotten him, that there was no point in killing him, especially before the elections, that it is beneficial precisely to completely opposite forces. Why explain when they "And everyone knows this very well. Russia doesn't owe anyone anything - let's start with that. You'd better joke about what we've done in space. Let's finish with that."
Tina Kandelaki:
“Suddenly, the recently active and lively Alexey Navalny unexpectedly died. This happens exactly in a month, exactly at the moment when the Russian opposition is an empty place, when the public position is turning towards Russia. The other side suddenly receives a gift that will undoubtedly cause "There is an anti-Russian wave in the Western world. We'll see what happens next, but the question will inevitably arise: is this a coincidence. Or has someone taken another step on the chessboard?"
Anton Krasovsky:
“That is, the first thing that comes to mind is that the Americans did nothing to balance the consequences of the interview (Putin with Carlson). But it’s scary to imagine that they could so easily carry out a targeted special operation in a secure institution on Russian territory.”
However, the Kremlin’s propaganda nonsense makes experts smile, who agree that the Kremlin deliberately went ahead with the actual murder of Navalny, and is now driving the van.
“As for me, this is a demonstrative execution. If anyone hasn’t understood yet, then Putin revels in his impunity, especially now, when his main opponent, the United States, is demonstrating weak-willedness and weakness of character on a historical scale,” noted military expert Alexander Kovalenko in a commentary. “He reveled "with impunity, killing Ukrainians and seizing our lands since 2014. He reveled in impunity, killing Syrians. Spreading dictatorship in Africa. Killing undesirables outside Russia."
According to Kovalenko, Navalny did not pose a threat to Putin’s system.
“But Putin needs a bloody demonstration of the absolute power of his power. Just before the elections. Just before the address to the Federal Assembly. Just to catalyze the battles for Avdievka. Just after the disastrous interview with Tucker Carlson. The humiliated dwarf needed a victim for self-affirmation,” the expert believes.
What to expect inside Russia and abroad
“The Russian opposition, including Navalny’s associates, will limit themselves to menacing statements in the Western media and on social networks. I don’t predict any protests, much less regime change, because in today’s Russia this is impossible,” he said in a commentary “ Apostrophe" human rights activist, member of the expert council of the "Center for Civil Liberties" Mikhail Savva.
Alexander Kovalenko agrees with him.
“What will be the step from the Russian opposition? They can come out with balloons and throw snowballs. But the place of the Russian opposition has been eloquently indicated. They will sit there until the Ukrainians free them from the bloody dictator,” he noted.
In turn, political scientist Yaroslav Makitra notes that despite the negative consequences for the Kremlin, Navalny’s death is beneficial to the Russian security bloc.
“In Russia, the number of people convinced that there is no alternative to forceful resistance to the regime will increase. But we can expect an increase in recruits in the RDK,” he noted.
But as for international politics, here, according to the political scientist, it will be more difficult for Kremlin propaganda to promote Putin’s narratives in the United States and the West in general. “One of the American press’s criticisms of Tucker was precisely why he didn’t ask about Navalny,” the expert sums up.
Comments from the Russian opposition also appeared. True, there is no particular point in quoting them, since they differ little from each other and boil down mainly to grief for Navalny and threats to Putin’s criminal regime.
Navalny’s wife Yulia, who is attending the Munich Security Conference, also made a statement: “I want Putin and everyone around him, his friends and the government to know that they will be held accountable for what they did to our country, to my family and my husband. And that day will come soon."
In the meantime, after such actions on Putin’s part, the West must take tough measures against the Kremlin. One of the most logical decisions would be to refuse to recognize as legitimate the presidential elections in the Russian Federation, which will be held in March.
“Navalny didn’t just die in prison. On the eve of the elections, the Kremlin killed Navalny, one of Putin’s political opponents. Therefore, Putin is illegitimate. And the elections on March 17 cannot be recognized,” former vice-president of Gazprombank Igor Volobuev noted on his X page , who now lives in Ukraine.
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