Unbelievable: Alexei Navalny Dead

When does it end?

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in jail, according to Russian Federal Penitentiary Service.

“On 16.02.2024 in the correctional colony number 3, convict Navalny A.A. has felt unwell after a walk, and has lost consciousness almost immediately. The medical workers of the institution have arrived at once, an emergency medical brigade was summoned. All the necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but did not yield positive results. Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict,” the release said

Who is Navalany?

Navalny rose to prominence during the early 2010s through his anti-corruption campaigns, which targeted various Russian government officials and entities. His investigations often exposed large-scale corruption and led to widespread protests across Russia. He has been arrested numerous times for his activism, and his organization, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, has faced legal challenges and government crackdowns.

In addition to his activism, Navalny has also been involved in Russian politics. He ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013 and later attempted to run for president in the 2018 election, but he was barred from running due to a previous criminal conviction that he and his supporters claim was politically motivated.

In August 2020, Navalny fell critically ill while on a flight in Russia and was later airlifted to Germany for medical treatment. German doctors concluded that he had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent, a finding that was later corroborated by laboratories in France and Sweden.

Despite the poisoning and subsequent recovery, Navalny returned to Russia in January 2021, where he was promptly arrested upon arrival. His arrest sparked protests across Russia and condemnation from the international community.

In early December, he vanished from a prison located in the Vladimir region, where he was serving a 30-year sentence for charges related to extremism and fraud. Later media reports said he was moved to a jail about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

Exactly one month before Vladimir Putin appears for the Presidential Election one of his vocal and prominent critic is dead.

Russian Chess Grandmaster Gary Kasprov took aim at the west for doing nothing when ever Putin murdered his political opponents.

“Putin tried and failed to murder Navalny quickly and secretly with poison, and now he has murdered him slowly and publicly in prison. He was killed for exposing Putin and his mafia as the crooks and thieves they are. My thoughts are with the brave man’s wife and children. Putin is Navalny’s killer, make no mistake, but there is blame enough to share. First, the Russians who failed to match Alexei’s courage to end Putin’s dictatorship and war. Some of us tried, and he marched with us in numbers that seem a fantasy now. But it wasn’t enough.

My rage and eternal scorn toward the Western politicians who treated Navalny’s poisoning and jailing as just another negotiating point with Putin, as they did the murder of another friend, Boris Nemtsov. Big talk, no action, more blood on their hands”.

Kasprov is right.

You don’t really need to be a scientist to understand why anyone who criticizes Putin and remains inside Russia ends up dead. The West chose to overlook these actions and continued doing business with Russia. Sometimes it was cheap gas, and other times it was ‘I don’t want to fight.’ As long as we keep conducting business as usual with Putin, he will continue with his business as usual.

Is Putin Clearing Russia of all possible replacements?

Adolf Hitler survived multiple assassination attempts. One of the most well-known attempts on his life occurred on July 20, 1944, when a group of high-ranking German military officers led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg planted a bomb at Hitler’s headquarters, known as the Wolf’s Lair, in East Prussia.

Despite the bomb exploding, Hitler survived with relatively minor injuries due to a heavy conference table deflecting the blast. After the assassination attempt, Hitler’s immediate actions were to personally ensure the suppression of the coup and to eliminate any potential threats to his regime. He ordered a ruthless crackdown on the conspirators and their associates, resulting in mass arrests, trials, and executions.

After the Prigozhin-organized mutiny against Putin in June 2023, I sensed imminent consequences. Putin, perceived as a dictator akin to Hitler, thrives on fear. A dictator devoid of fear is no dictator at all. Despite speculation that Prigozhin and Putin had reconciled and their priorities had been resolved, doubts lingered. How could a critic of a dictator escape consequences? Prigohzin’s aircraft inexplicably exploded mid-air. According to the Kremlin, a poor grenade chose to explode itself during the flight.

Today, Navalny went for a walk, collapsed, and passed away.

I always found it puzzling why he opted to return to Russia despite knowing he’d face arrest upon arrival. Once you’re incarcerated in a Russian prison, there’s little hope of release. The Kremlin’s grip on the judicial system ensures compliance with its directives. Navalny, of all people, should have been acutely aware of the risks and the slim chances of emerging unscathed.

Perhaps he believed his sacrifice would galvanize the Russian people to rally in his support. However, such idealistic hopes seldom manifest in this era. With his passing, we can expect boiler plate responses from the Kremlin.

The Russians are being deprived of any hope they can latch on to. That is what Putin is doing. You have no one else but me.