Alexei Navalny Dead

The jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison at the age of 47, Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service said on Friday.

He felt unwell after a walk, "lost consciousness almost immediately" and died shortly afterwards, the prison service said in a statement.

"Medical workers from the institution immediately arrived and an emergency medical team was called," the statement said. "All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Ambulance doctors stated the death of the convict."

The Context

Navalny, seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin's biggest critic, has been in jail since February 2021 under major fraud and contempt of court charges that are widely viewed as politically motivated.

He was being held in an Arctic penal colony, considered one of country's harshest, where he had been serving a 19-year jail term.

Navalny's death is likely to be seen as a political assassination. Multiple opponents of Putin have died under mysterious circumstances during his presidency.

What We Know

Navalny's lawyer, Leonid Solovyov, told independent Russian news outlet Novaya Gazeta that the activist's family has asked for him not to comment on the situation.

Navalny had reportedly been visited as recently as Wednesday, when he seemed well, Solovyov said.

"Now we're figuring it out. Alexei had a lawyer on Wednesday. Everything was fine then," he said.

Russian state-run news outlet RT reported that Navalny had died from a blood clot.

Meanwhile, Navalny's press secretary Kira Yarmysh said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Navalny's team hadn't received any confirmation about his death.

"The Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is spreading the news of Alexey Navalny's death in IK-3. We have no confirmation of this yet. Alexey's lawyer is currently on his way to Kharp. As soon as we have some information, we will report on it," she wrote.

Views

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Putin was informed of Navalny's death, and that the prison service will investigate the matter in line with routine procedures.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment by email.

Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at the Chatham House think tank, said nobody should be surprised by the news "least of all Navalny himself."

"After all, Russia tried to kill him once, and then he chose to go back for more," Giles told Newsweek.

"Russia's indifference to its international reputation is highlighted by the irony of this news coming immediately after Tucker Carlson's propaganda tour, lauding it as a progressive, modern state where people would want to live," he said.

What's Next

Giles said that although Navalny was once "useful" to Russia "as a sign that opposition to Putin was tolerated," that usefulness came to an end long ago.

"And by now, Russia has abandoned any pretense that it is anything other than a repressive regime," he added. "Russia is back in its historical comfort zone of murdering opponents at home and abroad without qualms and without a care for international condemnation."

Russian government officials have been ordered to refrain from commenting on the death of Navalny, independent news outlet Agentstvo reported on Friday, citing a source in the ruling United Russia party.

"Short-term, this is a blow for the Russian opposition," Konstantin Sonin, a Russian-born political economist from the University of Chicago, told Newsweek. "Navalny was the only major Russian politician to condemn Putin's war and the only politician with such views with millions of followers across Russia."

Long-term, news of his death is "just another sign of how degenerate, vile, and stupid Putin's regime is," Sonin said.

He added: "This means that they will never be able to stop the war-time regressions while they are in power, which dooms them to an eventual end like that of Hitler or the USSR."

Update 2/16/24, 8:41 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Sonin.