One year after the death in prison of the main opponent of the Kremlin supporters of Alexii Navalny will organize commemorations today, including a visit to his Mosca tomba, despite the risk of reprisals by the authorities.
These taxes come at a time when the Russian opposition, beheaded by the loss of its prominent figure and torn apart by internal struggles, is in an unprecedented position of weakness. Exiled to several countries abroad, his leader fight to rekindle the flame of the fight against Vladimir Putin, Especially in Russia, where every criticism of the government is severely repressed.
Charismatic anti -corruption activist and political enemy number one by Vladimir Putin, Navalny had been declared “extremist” from the Russian judicial system. Publicly mention the opponent or its organization, the anti -corruption fund (FBK), without specifying that they have been declared “extremists” exposes the transgressors to heavy penalties. This threat remains valid despite his death, which took place in unclear circumstances in an arctic prison on February 16th 2024, and despite the exile outside Russia of almost all his collaborators. According to the former right -hand man of the opposition, Leonid Volkov, “Alexei supporters will organize commemorative events all over the world”.
In some places they will be held Radders or marcein others a documentary will be projected dedicated to him. Navalny’s widow, Yulia navalnaya, Which has taken the reins of his movement in his hand, he will participate in an event in Berlin, where many supporters of the Russian opposition live.
“Wherever you find yourself, in Russia or abroad, we hope that you will meet people who think like you on February 16,” Written Volkov, indicating the opening hours of the Borissovskoye cemetery in Moscow, where Navalny is buried. The Telegram Pro-Cremlin channels have warned the supporters of the deceased exponent of the opposition from going to the cemetery. “Let’s give a brief advice to those who intend to go there but they are not yet sure: don’t go there!” It reads in a message shared by the journalist supporter of the Kremlin Dmitry Smirnov and other channels.
In the message we talk about “Big Brother and his always vigilant eye”, with the photograph of a sign that reports the presence of a surveillance camera at the cemetery gates. The Russian authorities methodically dismantled the movement of Alexei Navalny, sending In prison many of his supporters and the opponent himself. Four journalists are currently on trial in Russia for “participation in an extremist group”, accused of having produced images for Alexei Navalny’s team. In January, three of the lawyers who defended the opposition leader were sentenced to prison penalties ranging from three and a half to five years for transmitting his messages while in detention.
The death of Alexei Navalny at the age of 47 has not yet been completely explained. According to the Russian authorities, the man died as he walked in the prison courtyard. He was arrested in January 2021, on his return to Russia after being a convalescent in Germany following a poisoning of which he had attributed responsibility to the Kremlinwho for his part rejected the accusation. In December 2023 he was transferred to a remote criminal colony beyond the Arctic circle to serve one sentence to 19 years in prison for “extremism”.
Repressed in Russia, the Russian opposition is trying to relaunch abroad, so far without very success. Yulia Navalnaya and two other important opponents organized a march in Berlin against the Russian president and the offensive in Ukraine in November, bringing together about 2,000 Russian exiles. Beyond the slogans, the opposition struggles to propose a concrete approach that leads to the end of the war and to the departure of Vladimir Putin. In Russia, repression has brought hundreds of people to prison and thousands of other other have been punished or threatened due to their opposition to the government or the conflict in Ukraine.