Death of Alexei Navalny
I rarely recommend a TV programme but …..
Last night (Friday 16th Feb.
uary -I, almost accidently caught the beginning of a documentary titled – ‘Navalny’ and was hooked from the start.
Screened to coincide with the death – that morning – of the young (47), Russian writer, politician and major critic of Putin – with a large following of citizen support – despite the danger of being an active supporter of an opponent of Putin.
More than 100 people have been detained across eight cities after leaving tributes, according to OVD-Info, a group which monitors political repression in Russia
Police blocked access to a memorial in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk and detained several people there as well as in another Siberian city, Surgut. All proximate to the penal colony in which he died.
He had, himself, already survived an attempt to poison him – more on that later.
He died in a Russian high security penal colony to the north of the Arctic Circle – to which he had originally been sentenced for 9 years. For alleged -parole violations and fraud, quickly followed by two new charges carrying 15 years each – leading to another 19 years sentence. all with no evidence or court hearings.
The only official statement on his death said –
‘He died from – ‘sudden death syndrome’ – He was found collapsed in a punishment cell and attempts to resuscitate him – failed.’
So that makes everything clear!
he was last seen in a video broadcast, on Thursday 15th. February – stood upright in court, looking healthy – joking with the judge – that his only problem, was that he was ‘running out of money’.
Navalny’s lawyer, who arrived in the nearby town of Salekhard with Navalny’s mother on Saturday, was allegedly told by the prison that the body was being held in the morgue. A contact at the morgue later denied the body was there.
The body has not yet (@17th. February) been released to any independent authority.
His legal advisors have claimed that – ‘The prison authorities are now hiding the body’
Also – maybe a coincidence?
The Upper House of the Russian Parliament – on Thursday 15 Feb – i.e, just the day before his death – voted that the ballot for the next Russian Presidential election – With Putin as the overwhelming favourite, of course – will take place between the 15 and 17 March – just four weeks after the death of one potential ‘trouble maker’ with widespread support on the streets of Moscow.
Finally – back to where we started –
“Navalny,” – the Oscar-winning 2022 documentary about Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, director Daniel Roher.
Now available. For the next three weeks – on BBC iPlayer – Channel 4 – scroll down about six rows – it’s there’
“Navalny” focuses largely on the 2020 poisoning attempt on his life – apparently using the nerve agent Novichok, which is well known as ‘Putin’s signature poison – even used a number of times within the U.K.
Following the film’s surprisingly successful Sundance Festival premiere in 2022, it made headlines for an extended scene in which Navalny and his team – having done their research to identify the individuals responsible and obtained their contact numbers – set up a number of them – but particularly a Russian agent, Konstantin Kudryavtsev, who was recorded confessing to the poisoning – believing he was talking to another agent. Not the sharpest pencil in the box, obviously.
This also led to Navalny writing and publishing a book in 2020 titled – ‘The Case is Solved; I Know Everyone Who Tried to Kill Me’.
I can find no references to any libel actions against him or the publishers.
he narrowly recovered and moved with his family to Germany, but on Jan. 17, 2021, he returned to Moscow – knowing it was a risk – but feeling that he had a duty to his supporters – and was immediately detained. The film shows crowds of supporters outside the airport, as well as protests after his arrest. In the following months, Navalny was charged with various ‘crimes’ – leading to his total of 19-year sentence in the Siberian penal colony in which, he has now died.