An agreement with Russian authorities to exchange him was “in its final stages” before his death. For two years, his relatives claim to have worked to get him out of prison on the basis of an exchange of “Russian spies for political prisoners” Russia is currently detaining several Americans including Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich since March 2023 for "espionage" The circumstances of Alexeï Navalny's death on February 16, which caused great emotion across the world, remain unclear.