Aleksei Navalnyborn in 1976 a Butyn in a family with Ukrainian roots, he established himself as one of the leading figures of the Russian opposition. After embarking on a political career in the early 2000s, initially joining the Yabloko party, from which he broke away in 2007 due to differences, his criticism of the government became more incisive. Thanks to a personal blog started in 2008, Navalny brings corruption cases to light and leads the public mobilization in the 2011 mass demonstrations against the government.
The legal challenges he faces in the years that follow are seen by many as government ploys to stifle dissent. The condemnation of Russia by the European Court of Human Rights in 2018 reinforces this perception, highlighting how Navalny’s arrests were aimed at suppressing diversity of thought. Navalny does not hesitate to challenge the country’s power figures, including the president and ministers, through his own investigations Anti-Corruption Foundation. Association that is considered “extremist” by the Kremlin.
Despite his imprisonment, Navalny continues his opposition to the regime. His exclusion from the 2018 presidential race due to previous convictions and the “smart voting” initiative (to channel votes to MPs opposed to Putin) in the 2021 parliamentary elections, although hindered by technology companies under government pressure, are further controversial Worldwide. According to the EU, the sentences handed down to Navalny were “politically motivated sentences against him for actions that constitute legitimate political and anti-corruption activities”.
His commitment is recognized internationally with the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought in 2021, awarded by the European Parliament for his fight against corruption and the defense of human rights in Russia. Navalny, from prison, also condemns Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine as a distraction from domestic corruption. His death came in a penal colony in the Yamalo Nenets region, one of the most remote regions of Siberia.