The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
Putin must pay for Navalny ‘murder’
World leaders blame Russian regime for death of opposition leader in penal colony
VLADIMIR PUTIN must be made to pay for the “murder” of Alexei Navalny, world leaders said yesterday.
Putin’s long-standing opponent died after he fell ill on a walk at the Arctic penal colony where he was being held, Kremlin authorities claimed. They said the 47-year-old, who had appeared healthy and in good spirits in a video court hearing on Thursday, lost consciousness and died soon afterwards.
The Kremlin’s promise to investigate the death was dismissed by world leaders, who instead blamed Putin’s brutal regime. Speaking at the White House, Joe Biden said the Russian president was “responsible” for the death of the imprisoned opposition leader.
The UK Government last night summoned the Russian ambassador to make clear that it holds the Russian authorities “fully responsible”.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said the death “must be investigated fully and transparently”.
They added: “Mr Navalny was a man of great courage and iron will. Even from his prison cell, he continued to speak up for the rights of the Russian people. His dedication to human rights and exposing corruption was an inspiration to millions. The ideals for which he stood and died will live for ever.”
Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said: “Putin’s Russia fabricated charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an Arctic penal colony and now he has tragically died. Putin should be accountable for what has happened. No one should doubt the dreadful nature of his regime.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said Navalny had been “slowly murdered by President Putin and his regime, who fear nothing more than dissent from their own people”.
Mr Biden, who in 2021 promised “devastating” consequences should Navalny die in jail, said he was considering a “whole number of options” in response. He urged Republican lawmakers to pass a $61billion dollar aid package for Ukraine that has stalled after its approval in the senate, saying “history is watching”.
Asked whether Navalny’s death would convince Republican leaders to drop their opposition to the bill, he said: “I hope to God it helps.”
Navalny’s wife urged the international community to punish Putin for her husband’s death as she received the news shortly before taking the floor at a conference in Munich.
Yulia Navalnaya said: “They [Navalny’s killers] will be brought to justice, this day will come soon. We should fight this horrific regime ... this regime and Vladimir Putin should be personally held responsible for all the atrocities they have committed in our country in these last years.”
Navalny died yesterday morning after a walk at the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp, about 1,200 miles north-east of Moscow, the Russian prison service said. Navalny was held at the “Polar Wolf ” Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade jail term, under brutal special conditions. He was banned from talking to cellmates and under constant light exposure.
A statement said he had “felt bad after the walk, almost immediately losing consciousness”.
“Medical workers from the institution arrived immediately and an emergency medical team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but did not yield positive results.”
The death of the former lawyer robs the Russian opposition of its most courageous leader and the political foe Putin appeared to fear the most. Navalny rose to prominence more than a decade ago, highlighting what he said was the vast corruption and opulence among the “crooks and thieves” running Putin’s Russia.
His popularity, charisma and his ability to mobilise large crowds appeared to make the Russian leader view him as an existential threat. Despite surviving a poisoning with a Soviet nerve agent and being persecuted through the courts on cases he and his allies said were politically motivated, he refused to flee his country. Spontaneous memorials of flowers and candles began to appear last night in Russian cities including Moscow, Perm and Kazan as news of his death spread. Mourners were watched closely by security officials and there were reports of arrests
In London, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Russian embassy and built a shrine to Navalny.
The Kremlin said Putin had been informed of Navalny’s death and the 71-year-old former KGB spy was shown cheerfully meeting workers at a factory in Chelyabinsk in the Ural mountains. Analysts said that with intense sanctions already in place against Russia following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it was not immediately clear what leverage the West had to punish the Kremlin.
News of Navalny’s death came as the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka was expected to fall to Russian forces because of a crippling shortage of shells for the defenders.
In his speech, Mr Biden grew angry as he addressed Donald Trump’s stance on Putin and Ukraine, which has encouraged Republicans to hold out on a massive package of funding for Kyiv.
“History is watching the House of Representatives,” Mr Biden said. “The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten. The clock is ticking.”
ALEXEI NAVALNY’S wife has urged world leaders to hold Vladimir Putin responsible for her husband’s death in an emotional speech just hours after hearing the news.
Yulia Navalnaya said she was only able to take to the stage at the Munich Security Conference because she thought of what her husband would do in her place.
Mrs Navalnaya, who received a standing ovation after the short address, wore a stoical expression as she gave the impromptu speech, which was not listed on the original schedule at the Munich Security Conference yesterday.
She said: “You will have heard about the horrific news. I thought for a while should I stand here before you or go back to my children. I wondered what Alexei would have done in my place. I’m sure he would have been standing here on this stage.”
With her hands clasped in front of her, Mrs Navalnaya spoke clearly and calmly. She added: “I don’t know if we should believe the terrible news, the news we get only from official media because for many years, we have been in this situation, we cannot believe Putin and his government, they are lying constantly.”
Mrs Navalnaya, 47, married Alexei in 2000 and the couple have two children. She has been described as the First Lady of the Russian opposition because of her outspoken political activism and enduring support for Mr Navalny after his imprisonment.
After the poisoning of Mr Navalny in 2020, she convinced Russian officials to release him so he could be flown to Germany for treatment. “I understood that
‘Between us there are cities, the lights of airfields, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometres’
in this situation, I am the closest person to him,” she said later in an interview. “I am the wife. If I fall apart, then everybody else will in turn fall apart.”
Despite her activism, she has never been directly involved in Russian politics and has rarely taken to the podium as she did in Munich.
In her 10-minute speech, she said: “They [Navalny’s killers] will be brought to justice, this day will come soon. We should fight this horrific regime...this regime and Vladimir Putin should be personally held responsible for all the atrocities they have committed in our country in these last years.”
It also emerged yesterday that Mr Navalny had sent a poignant Valentine’s Day message to his wife from prison.
“Baby, everything is like a song with you: between us there are cities, the take-off lights of airfields, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometres,” he said in the message.
“But I feel that you are near every second, and I love you more and more.”