Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny died after feeling unwell and losing consciousness during morning walk in Arctic Circle jail

The prison service has announced the death of Alexei Navalny, regarded as Russia’s foremost opposition figure of the past decade, while he was in a jail located in the Arctic Circle.

Navalny, known as President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken critic, was serving a 19-year sentence on charges widely perceived as politically motivated.

He was transferred to one of Russia’s most severe penal colonies in late last year.

According to the prison service in the Yamalo-Nenets district, Navalny fell ill after a walk on Friday, subsequently losing consciousness almost immediately. Despite the efforts of an emergency medical team to resuscitate him, Navalny could not be revived.

The prisoner was pronounced dead by emergency doctors, and an investigation into the cause of death is underway.

Alexei Navalny, aged 47, was last observed just a day before, appearing in good spirits and laughing during a court hearing conducted via video link. “I don’t want to hear any condolences,” his mother was quoted as saying. “We saw him in prison on the 12th of February, during a meeting.

He was alive, healthy, and happy.” Navalny’s lawyer, Leonid Solovyov, refrained from commenting at present, while Navalny’s close aide, Leonid Volkov, expressed on X:

“Russian authorities have released a statement suggesting they are responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny in prison. However, we lack the means to confirm this or disprove it.”

As per a report from Russian state-run TV outlet RT, it was suggested that Navalny had experienced a blood clot. However, Moscow specialist Alexander Polupan, who had previously treated Navalny, dismissed this diagnosis, stating that such conclusions could only be drawn from a post-mortem examination.

Shortly after the prison service announced Navalny’s death, the international community commended the bravery of Vladimir Putin’s most prominent domestic opponent. France remarked that Navalny had sacrificed his life in defiance of Russian “oppression,” while Norway’s foreign minister asserted that Russian authorities bore significant responsibility for his demise.

Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State attending a security conference in Munich, expressed his concerns regarding the reports, stating that if they were indeed accurate, Navalny’s death in a Russian prison highlighted the inherent weaknesses and decay within Putin’s system.

Blinken emphasized that Russia bore responsibility for this situation. Meanwhile, Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, mentioned that Navalny’s death had been relayed to the president, who was visiting Chelyabinsk at the time. Peskov remarked that medical professionals needed to investigate the matter. UK Foreign Minister David Cameron echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing the alarming nature of Putin’s regime in Russia in light of recent events.

The majority of critics of the Russian president have left the country, yet Alexei Navalny made the decision to return in January 2021 following several months of medical care.

In August 2020, he fell victim to poisoning with a Novichok nerve agent at the conclusion of a trip to Siberia. Managed by his team, he was airlifted to Germany for specialized treatment.

Upon his return to Moscow, he was promptly detained. Accompanied by his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, he embraced her at passport control before being escorted away. Sadly, this marked the beginning of a 37-month-long incarceration for Navalny, who never regained his freedom.