The News
Jailed Russian opposition leader and political activist Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic penal colony Friday, according to Russia’s prison service. The Kremlin has yet to offer a cause of death, but Russian authorities said Navalny became unwell after a walk and then collapsed. Officials around the world have cautioned that the death has not been independently confirmed.
Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic and Russia’s most prominent political prisoner, was serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that were widely condemned as politically motivated by the international community, and which Navalny maintained were unjust.
Several western leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, directly held Putin and his government responsible for Navalny’s death, while hailing Navalny as a heroic symbol of opposition to the Kremlin.
The View From The U.S.
U.S President Joe Biden said there was “no doubt” that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government was responsible for Navalny’s death.
“Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” Biden said at a White House press conference Friday. “What has happened to Navalny is even more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled.”
When asked if he considered Navalny’s death an assassination, Biden responded: “We don’t know exactly what happened. But there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was the consequence of something Putin and his thugs did.”
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said at the Munich Security Conference that if news of his death was confirmed, “this would be a further sign of Putin’s brutality,” adding, “Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “his death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this.”
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told NPR that “given the Russian government’s long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents, it raises real and obvious questions about what happened here.”
The View From Europe
Putin must answer “for what he has done,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “It is obvious: He was killed by Putin, as thousands of others were tortured and martyred by this one ‘creature.’ Putin does not care who dies as long as he keeps his position.”
Navalny’s cause of death is still unknown.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, called the news “terrible,” writing, “As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life.”
British Foreign Minister David Cameron told delegates in Munich that “we should hold Putin accountable for this.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “deeply disturbed and saddened,” by the news, adding, “Putin fears nothing more than dissent from his own people. A grim reminder of what Putin and his regime are all about.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Navalny’s death was symbolic of the risks that Kremlin’s critics face, saying, “In today’s Russia, free spirits are put in the Gulag and sentenced to death.”
Navalny had great courage to return to his country after being poisoned, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, adding, “he has probably now paid for this courage with his life.”
The View From Canada
“The death of Alexei Navalny has us all reeling,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview. “It’s something that has the entire world being reminded of exactly what a monster Putin is.”
The View From Russia
Navalny’s family and close allies were initially skeptical over reports of his death, but later said that reactions from the Kremlin appeared to confirm it. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, sent a warning to Putin in brief remarks at the Munich Security Conference, saying, Putin and his government “will be punished... for what they have done to my husband.”
Russian government officials criticized the West and NATO leaders for blaming Putin for the death without forensic evidence, and the State Duma Speaker said, “Washington and Brussels are to blame for Navalny’s death.”
Across Russia, protests and memorials sprang up in support of Navalny, according to independent media and anti-war organizations. The Kremlin reportedly restricted members of parliament from commenting on Navalny’s death, while state media was ordered to stop publishing statements by public figures related to his death.