Alexeï Navalny: what we know about the circumstances of the death of the Russian opponent of Vladimir Putin

Guillaume Dominguez, edited by Philippe Folgado // Photo credit: KAREN MINASYAN / AFP 7:18 p.m., February 16, 2024

A sudden disappearance. Alexeï Navalny died this Friday in a penitentiary center in the Russian Far North, in circumstances that are still unclear. According to the limited information provided by the Russian penitentiary service, Vladimir Putin's main opponent was out for a walk in the afternoon when he felt ill and almost immediately lost consciousness. 

Ongoing medical expertise

Navalny was transported to the center's medical unit, and prison doctors then tried to resuscitate him for around thirty minutes, but to no avail, the statement said. It was at 2:17 p.m. that Alexeï Navalny was declared dead. For the moment, we do not know why, a medical assessment is underway.

The man, aged 47, appeared to be in good health on Thursday, during his last public appearance during a hearing. This tall blond with piercing blue eyes appeared thin and aged in a video, but he remained smiling and cheerful. He had not lost his sense of humor. In the recording, he is heard laughingly asking the judge to send him money in prison, due to his enormous salary. An extract shared on the social network X by Alla Poedie, geostrategic analyst and consultant for LCI. 

⚠️The last image of Alexei Navzlny, from yesterday, February 15. #Navalny during the Kovrov court via video link from Kharp, where his penal colony is located.

Navalny complained that, following the judge's decision, which we see at the end of the video, he will not have… pic.twitter.com/vBsPVn0Jnc

— Alla Poedie (@AllaPoedie) February 16, 2024

Prisoners victims of mistreatment 

Since his transfer to penal colony number 3, in western Siberia, renowned for its particularly difficult detention conditions, Alexeï Navalny had always assured that he was doing well. This colony is located in the middle of the Siberian tundra, 2,000 km northeast of Moscow, above the Arctic Circle. Nicknamed "Polar Wolf", this prison is a former Soviet air gulag where prisoners are forced to do forced labor in extreme conditions. 

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Temperatures in this region do not exceed -10 degrees in winter, and the sun only shines for two hours a day. According to an independent Russian media outlet, in addition to clothing unsuitable for the cold, detainees suffer daily physical and psychological violence from guards.