Russian opposition leader no longer in coma

BERLIN — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is no longer in a medically induced coma and is responsive, doctors treating him at Charité hospital in Berlin said Monday. But they did not rule out lasting damage from what they called his “severe poisoning” with what the German government has said was a military-grade nerve agent.

Navalny was flown to Germany on Aug. 22 for treatment of a suspected poisoning. Specialists from the German army later determined the poison came from the Novichok family of substances developed by the Soviet Union and used at least once before on an opponent of the Kremlin.

Ties between Berlin and Moscow, already strained over Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea and suspected involvement in the slaying of a Chechen rebel commander in a Berlin park last year, have been further eroded by the poisoning of Navalny.

The German government has demanded an explanation from Russia, but the Kremlin does not seem inclined to offer one, saying it has not yet been shown proof that Navalny was poisoned.

Navalny has been brought out of the medically induced coma and is being weaned from a respirator, the hospital said in a statement. “He is responsive to verbal stimuli,” the statement said. “It remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning.”

Navalny fell ill Aug. 20, as he made his way back to Moscow after meetings with opposition politicians in Siberia, before nationwide local elections. Two days later, he was evacuated to Berlin. Experts from the German army were asked to run tests that detected a substance from the Novichok group in Navalny’s system.