Little initially bothered Putin after he became president for the first time in 2000. Putin broke an implicit promise to Russians. But that’s no longer the case,” Maria Snegovaya, an expert on Russian politics at George Washington University, told me. “Putin was an untouchable, a god above everything else. He’s also under pressure at home from Russians who support Navalny. He’s receiving calls from President Joe Biden and other leaders to release Navalny, even as Russian authorities round up members of the dissident’s team and family. What happens to Navalny going forward is a serious matter of international concern, with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan recently promising “ there will be consequences” if the Putin opponent dies in prison. However, he added that he’s “losing sensitivity” in sections of his arm and legs and still wants to know “what it is and how to treat it.” And I will say frankly - their words that the tests show that ‘in a minimum time there will be no one to treat.’ seem to me worthy of attention,” he wrote. ![]() “Doctors, whom I fully trust, published a statement yesterday stating that you and I had achieved enough for me to end the hunger strike. But Navalny claimed victory in an Instagram post, saying pressure his supporters placed on the regime led independent doctors to check on his condition. Physicians close to Navalny made the same case, leading the dissident to end his hunger strike on Friday. it’s a question of days,” Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, said on Facebook this week. Navalny’s aides were concerned that the pro-democracy leader was on death’s door. They transferred Navalny to a hospital earlier this week for treatment, though questions remained about the quality of care he’d get. His condition had gotten so bad that not even Russian authorities could ignore it. He started a hunger strike on March 31, protesting the lack of medical care he said he’d received while in prison, and his lawyers continued to publicize his plight throughout his ordeal. Navalny met that fate on January 17 shortly after his flight from Berlin landed in Moscow, and he’s now imprisoned for at least 2.5 years.īut even that attempt to silence Navalny hasn’t worked so far: Navalny has remained in the headlines even while in custody. ![]() Yet despite being threatened with immediate arrest upon arrival back in Russia, he vowed to return to his homeland to continue the fight against Putin. Navalny lived, but he spent five months recuperating from a coma in Germany. Last year, Kremlin operatives tried to assassinate the opposition leader with a highly toxic nerve agent planted in his underwear, a bold operation that most experts say likely would have required Putin’s approval to launch. ![]() The problem for the president is, try as he might, he can’t keep the 44-year-old dissident quiet. Still, his campaign has inspired tens of thousands across the country to take to the streets to express their frustration with the regime - many for the first time - posing an existential threat to Putin. While Navalny’s ultimate goal seems to be to take Putin’s place, not just depose him, few believe he will actually succeed. ![]() Through slick videos, public mobilization, and even an ill-fated presidential run against the autocrat, Navalny has aimed to expose Kremlin corruption and malfeasance. Having defiantly returned to Russia after surviving a brazen assassination attempt only to be immediately detained and thrown in jail upon arrival, the opposition leader and anti-corruption crusader has rallied tens of thousands of supporters to his cause like never before - a real sign of trouble for Putin’s hold on power.Īlexei Navalny has spent over a decade trying to overthrow Putin. The greatest challenger to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule is a man whose name the dictator won’t say and whom he has tried to kill: Alexei Navalny.
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