Alexei Navalny’s death has shocked the world. Yet it was far from surprising. Described as Vladimir Putin’s biggest critic, the anti-corruption campaigner had survived several attacks – from being almost blinded to being poisoned by a nerve agent. At the time of his death he was locked up, in brutal conditions, in a prison in Siberia.
Navalny appeared in court the day before he died, and although he looked thinner, his supporters did not think he was on the brink of collapse. The Russian government said he had died from sudden death syndrome. But his family and friends say whatever the cause, there is one man to blame.
The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent, Andrew Roth, explains why Navalny took on Putin, and why his message struck such a chord with so many Russians, turning him into the country’s most important opposition politician. He tells Hannah Moore about how Navalny’s courage in returning to Russia after being left in a coma due to novichok poisoning made his death seem inevitable. The Russian journalist Yevgenia Albats, a friend of Navalny, explains what was behind this stance and why Navalny’s most important message was: “Don’t be afraid. Resist.”
Photograph: Kostas Tsironis/EPA
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