Death of opposition leader Navalny sparks widespread protests and arrests in Russia

This Russian woman was one of many who arrived to pay their respects to the tragically deceased oppositionist, Alexei Navalny. The Political adversary of Russia's autocrat, Vladimir Putin, reportedly died in a penal colony on Friday.

News of Navalny's death sent shockwaves across the globe. Tens of thousands of individuals poured onto the streets in numerous European cities. In solidarity, thousands more in Russia also took to the streets, leaving flowers at monuments honoring victims of political repression.

Among them, one Russian woman asserted her stance, addressing Putin directly. "I'm not afraid," she declared, "They can only kill me." "I have a compulsion to yell, 'There are 140 million of us! Can't we unite and tell them to leave?!" the woman stated.

Reports delivered by Russian prison services on Friday detail that Alexei Navalny "unexpectedly died in a penal colony situated far beyond the Arctic Circle, in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District of Northern Russia." Navalny reportedly "fell ill" and "lost consciousness." Despite emergency medical attention and resuscitation attempts, the oppositionist unfortunately couldn't be saved, stated the prison service officials.

During the ensuing protests, Russian law enforcement detained over 100 individuals across various cities, according to the Russian information platform OVD-Info. In St. Petersburg, protests were disbanded at the monument dedicated to the victims of political repression, as Novaya Gazeta, the independent portal, reported. Several independent journalists were also arrested during this ordeal.