Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny dies, prison service says

Russia’s prison service says “all necessary measures” were taken to try to save Alexey Navalny.

In a statement, the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia (FSIN) said Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and “almost immediately” lost consciousness.

“Medical personnel from the institution arrived promptly, and an ambulance team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were taken, but they did not yield positive results. 

“Emergency medical doctors confirmed the death of the convicted individual.

“The causes of death are being determined.”

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny's final post on social media platform Telegram was on Wednesday, February 14, when he paid tribute to his wife on Valentine's Day.

The post was made just two days before his death was announced by the Russian prison service on Friday.

"Baby, everything is like a song with you," the post reads.

"There are cities between us, the take-off light of airfields, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometers.

"But I feel that you are near every second, and I love you more and more."

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny fell gravely ill in August 2020 while on a return flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk. The pilot made an emergency landing in Omsk, where Navalny was taken to hospital for urgent treatment before being transferred to Germany, still critically ill.     

The German government said Navalny was poisoned with a chemical agent from the Novichok group, a conclusion supported by two other labs in France and Sweden. Novichok agents are highly unusual, so much so that very few scientists outside of Russia have any real experience in dealing with them.   

A subsequent Bellingcat-CNN investigation found that an elite team in Russia's FSB security service, made up of about six to 10 agents, had trailed Navalny for more than three years. One of those agents revealed in a sting that the lethal nerve agent Novichok had been planted in the activist’s underpants.   

Despite these revelations, Navalny said he did not believe there would be an investigation in Russia.

 Nonetheless, once mostly recovered, the activist announced his plan to go back to Russia, saying: "There was never a question for me whether to return or not, never.”   

The condition of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny had been repeatedly raised by the Biden administration. US President Joe Biden called for Navalny’s release in his first phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin after taking office in 2021, and raised the issue during a summit with his Russian counterpart that June.

“I made it clear to him that I believe the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia,” Biden said at the time.

He continued, “What do you think happens when he’s saying it’s not about hurting Navalny, all the stuff he says to rationalize the treatment of Navalny, and then he dies in prison?… It’s about trust. It’s about their ability to influence other nations in a positive way.”

The issue had remained at the forefront of US-Russia relations.

"We have communicated to the Russian government that they are responsible for what happens to Mr. Navalny while he's in their custody and they will be held accountable by the international community," spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a briefing in December.

Alexey Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, says Navalny’s lawyer is traveling to Kharp, Russia, where the Kremlin critic had been serving his sentence.

In January 2024, CNN's Matthew Chance reported on what life is like inside one of Russia's notorious penal colonies, nicknamed the "Polar Wolf" for its remote location and proximity to the Arctic.

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was being held here when his death was announced on February 16, 2024, by Russian state media, citing the country's prison service.

Alexey Navalny had long been a thorn in the side of President Vladimir Putin, exposing corruption in high places, campaigning against the ruling United Russia party, and orchestrating some of the biggest anti-government protests seen in recent years.

He returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had been treated after being poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.

Upon his return, Navalnvy was swiftly arrested on charges he dismissed as politically motivated. He has been incarcerated ever since.

Jailed Russian opposition figure and outspoken Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, who made global headlines when he was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020, has died, the Russian prison service said.