Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has said that he is recovering his verbal and physical abilities in a German hospital where he is being treated for nerve gas poisoning.

Navalny, 44, who is the most prominent opponent of President Putin, fell ill while on a domestic flight to Moscow on the 20th of last August.

He was taken to Germany for treatment, where a military laboratory determined that he had been poisoned with Novichok, the same substance that Britain had previously said was used against a former Russian spy and his daughter in England two years ago.

Navalny had been in a coma for more than a week during his treatment, and he said he felt overwhelmed as soon as he emerged from the coma, and was unable to find the words to answer the doctor's questions.

On Saturday, Navalny recalled the moments of "despair" and "trembling" that he experienced during his recovery so that he could express again and walk in a Berlin hospital.

In a post I attached to a photo showing him standing up, on Instagram, he wrote, "I will tell you how my recovery is going on. There are no more obstacles on my way, but it will be a long time."

The anti-corruption activist explained that “a short time ago,” he was unable to “identify anyone,” and he was unable to respond to the doctor who came to help him speak every morning.

"It was causing me to despair because I was aware of what the doctor wanted, but I did not know where to find the words," he said, adding that he was now gradually recovering the use of his brain.

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A post shared by Алексей Навальный (@navalny) on Sep 19, 2020 at 2:09 am PDT

Humorous

He added, "I am now a man whose legs are shaking when he uses the stairs, and on the other hand he tells himself this is a stair we use to climb, but it is better to find an elevator."

Then he said, "I was standing before staring stupidly into the void," and thanked the doctors who made him go from a "practically living man" to someone who "had all the opportunities" to be able to skillfully use Instagram again.

On Tuesday, Navalny showed his humor in his first post, published since feeling sick, in which he declared that he was able to breathe on his own all day, without a device.

He added jokingly, "I liked it (breathing without devices), it is an amazing process and many people underestimate it. I recommend it," and attached it to a picture of him, opening his eyes, and sitting on his bed in the hospital in Berlin with his wife and children next to him.

The Russian authorities have not yet opened an investigation into this case, despite calls in this direction and threats to impose European sanctions.

On Friday, the Kremlin said, according to its spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, that Russia has "limited" elements to conduct an investigation into the Alexei Navalny case, due to the disposition of belongings and their removal from Russia and lack of access to the checks carried out in Germany.