- Navalny confirmed dead in Russia
- Global protests and arrests follow
- World leaders condemn Putin
Mr Navalny, a prominent figure opposed to official corruption and a key organiser of significant anti-Kremlin demonstrations, was identified as deceased by Russian prison authorities on Friday. He was a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin.
Individuals who congregated in Russia to mourn the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been severely repressed by the police; one human rights organisation estimates that at least one hundred people have been arrested.
Photographs and footage from Moscow and St Petersburg, the two largest cities in Russia, depicted officers ripping placards from demonstrators and dragging others away from makeshift memorials to Mr Navalny.
Assembled at a monument honouring the victims of Soviet repression, journalists at the site in Moscow were also captured on camera being detained.
A woman present at the location remarked, “Everything that has transpired on the soil of my cherished nation over the past few years is a disgrace.”
Another added, “Of course, I am enraged.” “He has been ultimately put to death by them.”
A gathering to commemorate the demise of Mr Navalny has resulted in the arrest of a minimum of one hundred individuals in eight cities, including Moscow, St Petersburg, and Krasnodar, as reported by the Russian human rights organisation OVD-Info.
While police have not disclosed specifics regarding arrests. Prosecutors have issued a warning to Russian citizens against engaging in any form of mass demonstration in Moscow.
It comes after prison authorities in Russia confirmed the death of Mr Navalny, a 47-year-old dissident and chief critic of President Vladimir Putin who led significant anti-Kremlin protests and campaigned against official corruption, on Friday.
Protests throughout Europe
Protests transpired beyond the borders of Russia, encompassing London, where individuals adorned with photographs of Mr Navalny attended a gathering in front of the Russian embassy in the vicinity of Notting Hill.
An unidentified individual present at the demonstration stated, “I desire for Russia to be a nation that is universally respected.
“My goal is to admire my flag. “However, that is not the case today, as the flag symbolises the conflict.”
Near the Russian embassy in Berlin, hundreds yelled “Putin to the Hague” in Russian, German, and English.
By a portrait of Mr. Navalny, mourners in Lithuania deposited candles and flowers. Lithuania was formerly subjugated to Moscow but is now a member of NATO and the European Union.
Since departing Russia in 2022, Pussy Riot activist Lyusya Shtein, 26, has resided in Vilnius. “He was always with us, so it is all surreal,” she said.
Additionally, cities such as The Hague, Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Sofia, and Geneva were visited by groups.
Leaders worldwide react
In the interim, world leaders reacted to the news of Mr. Navalny’s demise. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, placed the utmost responsibility on Mr. Putin.
He stated, “Putin obviously murdered him,” while attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
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“Whoever dies is irrelevant to Putin; his own survival is what matters.” For this reason, he must not cling to anything. He further stated, “Putin must forfeit everything and be held accountable for his actions.”
President Joe Biden of the United States stated that the precise circumstances surrounding Navalny’s death are unknown. “There is no doubt that it was the result of an action carried out by Putin and his thugs.”
Mr Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose nation temporarily hosted him, lauded the Kremlin critic’s valour and stated that his demise “elucidates what kind of regime this is [in Russia].”
