https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/jailed-russian-opposition-leader-navalny-dead-prison-service-2024-02-16/ Skip to main content Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Learn more aboutRefinitiv Reuters home * World Browse World + Africa + Americas + Asia Pacific + China + Europe + India + Israel and Hamas at War + Japan + Middle East + United Kingdom + United States + US Elections + Ukraine and Russia at War + Reuters Next * Business Browse Business + Aerospace & Defense + Autos & Transportation + Davos + Energy + Environment + Finance + Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals + Media & Telecom + Retail & Consumer + Future of Health + Future of Money + Take Five + World at Work * Markets Browse Markets + Asian Markets + Carbon Markets + Commodities + Currencies + Deals + Emerging Markets + ETFs + European Markets + Funds + Global Market Data + Rates & Bonds + Stocks + U.S. Markets + Wealth + Macro Matters * Sustainability Browse Sustainability + Boards, Policy & Regulation + Climate & Energy + Land Use & Biodiversity + Society & Equity + Sustainable Finance & Reporting + The Switch + Reuters Impact * Legal Browse Legal + Government + Legal Industry + Litigation + Transactional + US Supreme Court * Breakingviews Browse Breakingviews + Breakingviews Predictions * Technology Browse Technology + Cybersecurity + Space + Disrupted + Reuters Momentum * Investigations * More Sports + Athletics + Baseball + Basketball + Cricket + Cycling + Formula 1 + Golf + NFL + NHL + Soccer + Tennis ScienceLifestyleGraphics PicturesPodcastsFact CheckVideoSponsored Content + Reuters Plus + Coupons My View Register * Europe Putin foe Alexei Navalny dies in jail, West holds Russia responsible By Guy Faulconbridge and Felix Light February 16, 202410:08 PM UTCUpdated ago * * * * * * * * * Summary * Navalny dies in prison after walk, says prison service * Opposition leader said to have lost consciousness * Putin informed of death of his main domestic critic * Supporters say Navalny was murdered, cannot confirm death * Western officials laud Navalny, condemn Putin MOSCOW, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's most formidable domestic opponent, fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk at the "Polar Wolf" Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence, authorities said. The death of Navalny, a 47-year-old former lawyer, robs the disparate Russian opposition of its most prominent leader as Putin prepares for an election which will keep the former KGB spy in power until at least 2030. U.S. President Joe Biden said he was outraged and joined other Western leaders in criticising Russia over Navalny's death, blaming it on "something that Putin and his thugs did." Navalny rose to prominence more than a decade ago by documenting and speaking publicly about what he said was the vast corruption and opulence among the "crooks and thieves" running Putin's Russia. There are no other opposition leaders in Russia of Navalny's stature. For some young urban Russians, Navalny had offered hope of an alternative future to Putin, who has served as Russia's paramount leader longer than anyone since Josef Stalin. The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk at the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp, about 1,900 km (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow. He lost consciousness almost immediately and died shortly afterwards, it said, adding that resuscitation attempts failed. Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said there was "almost no hope" that he was alive. Navalny's wife, Yulia, told the Munich Security Conference she could not be sure her husband was dead because "Putin and his government... lie incessantly". "But if this is true, I want Putin, his entire entourage, Putin's friends, his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family, to my husband," she said. The Kremlin said Putin had been informed of Navalny's death. The 71-year-old former KGB spy was shown meeting workers at a factory in Chelyabinsk, in the Ural mountains. He said nothing in public about Navalny. Western leaders paid tribute to Navalny's courage as a fighter for freedom. Some, without citing evidence, accused the Kremlin of murder and said Putin should be held accountable. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the reaction of Western leaders to the death was unacceptable and "absolutely rabid". "We don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did," Biden said at the White House. "Russian authorities are going to tell their own story," Biden said. "But make no mistake. Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny's death." MURDER ACCUSATION Navalny's movement is outlawed and most of his senior allies now live in exile in Europe. People gather at the monument to the victims of political repressions following the death of Alexei Navalny in Saint Petersburg Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny participates in a hearing against the Ministry of Justice, in Moscow Russian opposition leader Navalny attends a hearing for his appeal against his 30-day jail sentence, at a court in Moscow Russian late opposition leader Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia attends the Munich Security Conference People protest following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Barcelona A view shows the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a court hearing in Pokrov Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia attend a meeting to uphold his bid for presidential candidate, in Moscow [1/8]A person lights a candle next to a portrait of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the monument to the victims of political repression following Navalny's death, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab "If this (news of Navalny's death) is true, then it's not 'Navalny died', but 'Putin killed Navalny'," Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief of staff, said. The Kremlin did not respond to the accusation. Yarmysh, Navalny's spokeswoman, said his movement and aims would live on. "We are convinced that we will be victorious in the end," she said. "Russia is our country, it belongs to us and we need to return it us." Navalny's lawyer was on his way to the tough penal colony where Navalny was serving sentences that would have kept him in prison beyond the age of 70. Navalny earned admiration from Russia's opposition for voluntarily returning to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had been treated for what Western laboratory tests showed was an attempt to poison him with a nerve agent. Navalny said at the time that he was poisoned in Siberia in August 2020. The Kremlin denied trying to kill him and said there was no evidence he was poisoned with a nerve agent. Grigory Yavlinsky, a veteran liberal, said Navalny's death showed the need for reform and echoed many opposition figures in saying he feared for the health of other activists in jail. In Moscow, at a memorial to the victims of Soviet political repression in the shadow of the former KGB headquarters, some people laid roses and carnations. Police looked on. One note read: "Alexei Navalny - we remember you." Russian prosecutors warned people not to take part in any mass meetings in Moscow. Supporters arranged meetings to honour Navalny in London, Paris, Oslo, Rome, Brussels, Berlin, Geneva, Prague, Yerevan, Tbilisi and Vilnius. RUSSIA'S FUTURE Navalny had forecast Russia could face political turmoil because he said Putin built a brittle system of personal rule reliant on corruption. The Kremlin dismissed his accusations about vast corruption and about Putin's personal wealth. Russian officials cast Navalny as an extremist who was a puppet of the CIA, which they say is intent on sowing chaos and turning Russia into a client state of the West. A day before his death, Navalny peered through a barred window, laughing and cracking jokes about his depleting funds and the judge's salary. "Your Honour, I will send you my personal account number so that you can use your huge salary as a federal judge to 'warm up' my personal account, because I am running out of money," he said via video link. When demonstrations against Putin flared in December 2011, after an election tainted by fraud accusations, he was one of the first protest leaders arrested. In an interview in Moscow in 2011, Navalny was asked by Reuters if he was afraid of challenging Putin's system. "That's the difference between me and you: you are afraid and I am not afraid," he said. "I realize there is danger, but why should I be afraid?" Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and John Irish in Munich, Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington, and Reuters bureaux; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Gareth Jones, Timothy Heritage and Toby Chopra Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * * * * * Purchase Licensing Rights [b2cf1e48-7] Guy Faulconbridge Thomson Reuters As Moscow bureau chief, Guy runs coverage of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Before Moscow, Guy ran Brexit coverage as London bureau chief (2012-2022). On the night of Brexit, his team delivered one of Reuters historic wins - reporting news of Brexit first to the world and the financial markets. Guy graduated from the London School of Economics and started his career as an intern at Bloomberg. He has spent over 14 years covering the former Soviet Union. He speaks fluent Russian. * * * Read Next * Russian opposition leader Navalny speaks during news conference on opposition joint efforts at local elections in 2015 in Moscow EuropecategoryNavalny's mother: He was healthy and happy when I saw him on Monday2:15 PM UTC * People demonstrate after the resignation of Hungary's President and former Justice Minister, in Budapest EuropecategoryTens of thousands rally against Hungary's Orban after sex abuse pardon scandal7:01 PM UTC * Russian opposition leader Navalny attends a court hearing in Moscow EuropecategoryNavalny laughed and cracked jokes a day before his death2:15 PM UTC * Russian opposition leader Navalny pays respect to human rights activist Alexeyeva in Moscow ExplainerWho was Alexei Navalny and what did he say of Russia, Putin and death?10:36 PM UTC * Updated ago LSEG Workspace World * Palestinians inspect a house hit by an Israeli strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Israel bombards Gaza, with biggest functioning hospital under siege Middle Eastcategory * February 16, 2024 * 10:17 PM UTC * ago Gaza's largest functioning hospital was under siege on Friday in Israel's war with Islamist group Hamas, leaving patients and doctors helpless in the chaos as warplanes struck Rafah, the last refuge for Palestinians in the enclave, officials said. * Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny participates in a hearing against the Ministry of Justice, in Moscow EuropecategoryNavalny's death: The full Russian prison service statement2:08 PM UTC * U.S. President Biden visits Israel amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas Middle EastcategoryBiden says he pushed Netanyahu for temporary ceasefire6:31 PM UTC * U.S. House Republicans meet in attempt to elect new Speaker on Capitol Hill in Washington United StatescategoryDespite Navalny, it will be weeks before US House considers Ukraine aid7:35 PM UTC * Republican presidential candidate Haley campaigns in Rochester United StatescategoryNikki Haley blasts Trump for relationship with Putin after Navalny's death4:38 PM UTC Site Index Browse * World * Business * Markets * Sustainability * Legal * Breakingviews * Technology * Investigations, opens new tab * Sports * Science * Lifestyle About Reuters * About Reuters, opens new tab * Careers, opens new tab * Reuters News Agency, opens new tab * Brand Attribution Guidelines, opens new tab * Reuters Leadership, opens new tab * Reuters Fact Check, opens new tab * Reuters Diversity Report, opens new tab Stay Informed * Download the App (iOS), opens new tab * Download the App (Android), opens new tab * Newsletters, opens new tab Information you can trust Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world's largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Follow Us * * * * * Thomson Reuters Products * Westlaw, opens new tab Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. * Onesource, opens new tab The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. * Checkpoint, opens new tab The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. LSEG Products * Workspace, opens new tab Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. * Data Catalogue, opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. * World-Check, opens new tab Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. * Advertise With Us, opens new tab * Advertising Guidelines, opens new tab * Coupons, opens new tab * Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab * Cookies, opens new tab * Terms of Use, opens new tab * Privacy, opens new tab * Digital Accessibility, opens new tab * Corrections, opens new tab * Site Feedback, opens new tab All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. (c) 2024 Reuters. All rights reserved