Alexei Navalny: Sudden Death in Penal Colony Sparks Outcry

Last Friday, Russian prison authorities announced the sudden death of Navalny in a penal colony located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, in the Far North. Navalny experienced sudden illness, leading to unconsciousness. Despite the immediate call for emergency services and efforts to resuscitate him, the prominent opposition figure passed away, as stated by the prison services.

Moscow's residents began gathering at the Solovetsky Stone. This monument serves as a grim reminder of the victims of political repression during the Soviet Union era, situated in Lubyanka Square, directly across from the former KGB headquarters.

In Ulyanovsk, the security forces have photographed citizens who have come to pay their respects to Navalny. Meanwhile, in Tomsk, officers maintain a vigil at the Stone of Sorrow, and in Novosibirsk, the monument dedicated to the victims of repression is currently under police cordon.

Three years have elapsed since Navalny was detained and incarcerated upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he had been recuperating from an alleged poisoning attempt by Russian special operatives. The authorities charged him with multiple criminal offenses, culminating in sentences amounting to over 30 years in prison. Since December, Navalny had been confined to the "Polar Wolf" penal colony in the harsh climes beyond the Arctic Circle.