Alexei Navalny: A Fearless Champion Seeking Justice
Article by Ara Vazquez, TPT Staff Writer
Alexei Navalny, Russian Opposition Leader and critic of Russian president, Vladimir Putin, died on February 16th in a prison colony located in the Arctic Circle where he was serving a 30 year sentence. Navalny was a symbol of hope for Russia, seeking change in the corrupted government. From his activism to investigative work, Navalny began a movement that will not be stopped.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Alexei Navalny was born on June 4th of 1976 in Butyn, a village outside of Moscow. He graduated from the People’s Friendship University of Russia in 1997, with a law degree. A few years later in 2001, he graduated from the Finance Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation with an economics degree. Early on in his career, Navalny gained prominence through exposing corruption of major state corporations and advocating for the rights of residents from his community. Navalny’s effort to expose corruption led him to create the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) in 2011, in efforts to fight a “criminal regime” referring to that of Putin’s. The ACF was one of Navalny’s biggest projects, allowing him to gain even more prominence.
Throughout the 2010s, Navalny organized several protests in Russia, for example the 2011-2012 protests against election fraud, the 2017-2018 protests against corruption and the 2019 protests for fair elections in Moscow. While his protests have raised awareness, they’ve mostly resulted in arrests and legal actions against participants. However, the protests have also spurred support towards Navalny and his movement.
In 2013, Navalny ran for mayor of Moscow, campaigning on an anti-corruption platform, which garnered him significant support. Despite losing to incumbent mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, his campaign helped raise his profile and bolster his prominence as an opposition leader in Russia.
On August 20, 2020, Navalny was poisoned with Novichok by the Russian government, a large turning point in his life. Novichok is a military-grade nerve agent, created by the Soviet Union, with Russia being the only known country to have this chemical weapon.
This poisoning brought international attention to Navalny and his activism, with many news outlets covering the incident. Along with attention from the media, world leaders condemned the attack and called for investigation. Protests throughout Russia sparked, with participants demanding justice for the government to take accountability.
In 2021, Navalny released his most famous investigation, “Putin’s palace. History of world’s largest bribe.” He went on to expose a luxurious property owned by Putin, which was funded illegally by people of his inner circle. Navalny presents evidence of money laundering and bribery, connecting it to the construction of the property.
The Russian government has taken legal action against Navalny on several occasions. Most recently, upon his return to Russia after living in exile in Germany, he was detained and later sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison for violating terms of a suspended sentence.
Navalny died on February 16th in the prison colony where he was being held, located in the Arctic Circle. Prison officials had stated that he had gone for a walk, where he fell ill and died after. His death sparked lots of protests as the Russian prison service was very vague with the details of his death, leading to speculation on whether he had actually died or been assassinated.
Navalny was a courageous man, being deeply passionate in his work and his efforts to fight against corruption. His activism and pursuit of justice have made a significant impact on the political landscape in Russia. Navalny’s story should serve as a reminder of the challenges faced by those who oppose their governments and the status quo.
Sources:
https://2018.navalny.com/en/biography/
https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/russia-aleksei-navalny-putin-moscow/
https://apnews.com/article/russia-navalny-life-timeline-0722708e19e51b10699b2cc73ece0bae
https://apnews.com/article/russia-navalny-dead-opposition-leader-2d11644f7ae5332587b39150f1fd1738
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-16057045
https://ge.usembassy.gov/putins-poisons-2020-attack-on-aleksey-navalny/