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President Biden spoke from the White House on reports that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny had died on Feb. 16. (Video: The Washington Post)

Biden blames Putin for Navalny’s death, praises Russian opposition leader

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President Biden blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Alexei Navalny’s death Friday, calling it “proof of Putin’s brutality.” The opposition leader died in a remote penal colony in Russia’s far north, the country’s prison service announced without giving the cause of his death. News of Navalny’s death flooded across Russian Telegram news channels and was confirmed in a curt announcement by prison authorities, prompting the U.N. Human Rights Office to call for an independent investigation.

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Prison authorities reported that Navalny “felt unwell” after a walk, “almost immediately losing consciousness.” They said a medical team failed to resuscitate him. Navalny’s team did not immediately confirm his death but said his lawyer was flying to the prison colony in Kharp in Russia’s far north.
Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, called on “all the people in the world” to stand up for her husband. “We should fight this horrific regime in Russia today,” she said at the Munich Security Conference on Friday after Vice President Harris’s speech there.
Navalny, a longtime critic of Putin, was the Russian leader’s main political rival. He survived a poisoning attempt with a banned chemical nerve agent in August 2020 that the State Department said was carried out by agents of the Russian state.
He had been jailed since returning to Russia in January 2021 on charges that he and international rights groups described as trumped up for political retribution. He was barred from running against Putin in a presidential election in 2018. Putin is again up for reelection next month.
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Prison authorities reported that Navalny “felt unwell” after a walk, “almost immediately losing consciousness.” They said a medical team failed to resuscitate him. Navalny’s team did not immediately confirm his death but said his lawyer was flying to the prison colony in Kharp in Russia’s far north.
Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, called on “all the people in the world” to stand up for her husband. “We should fight this horrific regime in Russia today,” she said at the Munich Security Conference on Friday after Vice President Harris’s speech there.
Navalny, a longtime critic of Putin, was the Russian leader’s main political rival. He survived a poisoning attempt with a banned chemical nerve agent in August 2020 that the State Department said was carried out by agents of the Russian state.
He had been jailed since returning to Russia in January 2021 on charges that he and international rights groups described as trumped up for political retribution. He was barred from running against Putin in a presidential election in 2018. Putin is again up for reelection next month.
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Alexei Navalny’s death

Alexei Navalny, leading Russian opposition leader, died in a remote penal colony at 47.

Why his death matters: Navalny emerged over the years as a singularly successful blogger, activist and opposition figure, reaching a mass audience through online videos that detailed ruling-class corruption and lavish spending.

Navalny was jailed in 2021. In August, a Russian court handed him a 19-year sentence on charges of “extremism” and transferred to a “special regime” penal colony in Russia’s far north. Such facilities are notorious for their severe conditions and harsh treatment of prisoners.

Just one day before officials announced his death, Navalny appeared in court via video link, making jokes and smiling.

Reactions have poured in from international leaders. President Biden blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Alexei Navalny’s death Friday, calling it “proof of Putin’s brutality.”

Read the Opinion from Navalny in 2022: This is what a post-Putin Russia should look like.

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