Videos circulating on Russian social media depict unidentified groups removing floral tributes to Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s prominent critic, who passed away in a Russian penal colony on Friday. Despite police presence, individuals were observed dismantling the tributes overnight.
In response to the removal, over 100 individuals were detained in eight cities throughout Russia after attempting to lay flowers in Navalny’s memory, as reported by OVD-Info, an organization that monitors political repression in the country. Police in Novosibirsk, Siberia, prevented access to a memorial site and detained several people, with similar incidents occurring in Surgut, also in Siberia, according to OVD-Info.
Footage from Novosibirsk shared on social media captured individuals placing red flowers upright in the snow while being monitored by police officers who cordoned off access to the memorial with tape.
Overnight, in Moscow, a sizable group removed flowers from a memorial near the Russia Federal Security Service headquarters, as captured in a video, while police observed the activity. However, by morning, additional flowers had been placed at the site.
Navalny’s demise occurs less than a month before an election, securing Putin’s extended tenure by six years.
Nigel Gould-Davies, a former British ambassador to Belarus and senior fellow for Russia & Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, remarked that Navalny’s passing reflects the dire consequences opposition faces in Russia, transitioning from imprisonment to death.
The circumstances surrounding Navalny’s demise remain largely ambiguous.
According to Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, Navalny fell ill following a walk on Friday and subsequently lost consciousness at the penal colony located in the town of Kharp, situated in the Yamalo-Nenets region approximately 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow. Despite the arrival of an ambulance, attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. The cause of death is still under investigation, as per the service’s statement.
Navalny had been incarcerated since January 2021, choosing to return to Moscow despite the imminent risk of arrest after recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning, which he attributed to the Kremlin. Subsequently, he faced three convictions, asserting that each case was politically motivated, and ultimately received a 19-year sentence for extremism.
Following the latest verdict, Navalny expressed his understanding that he was effectively serving a life sentence, contingent on the duration of either his life or the life of the current regime.
Upon the news of Navalny’s death, his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, made a poignant appearance at a security conference in Germany, attended by numerous leaders.
“But if this is accurate, I want Putin and everyone associated with Putin, including his allies and the government, to understand that they will bear responsibility for the impact on our country, my family, and my husband. This day will come very soon,” Navalnaya declared.
U.S. President Joe Biden stated that Washington lacks precise details about the incident, “but there is no doubt that Navalny’s death was a consequence of something Putin and his thugs did.”
Navalny “could have chosen the safety of exile,” but he returned to his homeland, fully aware of the potential for imprisonment or harm, “because he believed so profoundly in his country, in Russia.”
In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz remarked that Navalny “has likely paid for this courage with his life.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin had been informed of Navalny’s death. Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the team had not yet received confirmation.
