PUTIN UNDER PRESSURE
Since 2018, Alexei Navalny has led the Russia of the Future party, which aims to dismantle the corrupt patronage system that exists in Putin’s administration and restore a free and prosperous Russia. Perhaps Putin’s most outspoken critic, Navalny has sparked a national movement across the country after launching FBK (Фонд борьбы с коррупцией, Fond Borby s Korruptsiyey), an anti-corruption foundation, whose aim is to, “fight corruption in the highest authorities”. With a grassroots movement and thousands of supporters and donors, the organisation and Navalny quickly were seen as a threat to the status quo in Putin’s Russia and were the targets of criminal investigations; associates of Navalny were harassed, arrested, and publicly threatened for their work.
Despite threats and a crackdown on freedom of expression in Russia, Navalny and allies produced documentaries and issued investigative reports that linked Putin’s allies and oligarchs in Russia to mass corruption and fraud. Fearing their mounting influence, FBK members and Navalny were subsequently arrested and charged with money laundering and embezzlement by the Kremlin, but support for Navalny did not seem to waiver amidst these accusations. After serving periods of house arrest and imprisonment, Navalny, once again, took to the streets with supporters to call for the ousting of United Russia, the current ruling party.
The efforts by the Putin administration to subvert Navalny and his supporters hit a peak in 2019 when Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent which was previously used to kill Yulia and Sergei Skripal, enemies of the Kremlin in 2018. Luckily, Navalny was flown to Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel offered refuge and medical care to Navalny with the support of the European Union and human rights organisations across the globe. In response, governments sanctioned Russian officials and called for inquests into the poisoning and human rights implications of Russia’s treatment of Navalny. In fact, one of the first actions taken by the newly established Global Human Rights Sanction Regime of the European Union was to sanction four Russian officials in connection with Navalny’s imprisonment and prosecution. While human rights issues have always been a point of tension between the European Union and Russia, the denial by the Kremlin of involvement with poisonings of dissidents and political figures has contributed to the continuing political isolation of Russia in the region.
“ALEXEI IS DYING”
Despite warnings from allies and supporters, Navalny returned to Russia in early 2021. Now, two months on, Navalny’s allies are facing their biggest fear yet: the prospect of a movement without its leader. While protests and marches have continued across Russia and, indeed, across Europe in support of Navalny and of a Putin-free Russia, Navalny’s condition in Matrosskaya Tishina prison has raised serious concerns. For the past twenty-plus days, Navalny has participated in a hunger strike against the lack of proper medical care provided to him in prison. As reports came out about Navalny’s dire condition, human rights organisations and governments across the world have responded by condemning the Russian government and calling for his immediate release. In a recent interview, President Joe Biden criticised the treatment of Navalny, characterising it as, “totally inappropriate”. Following President Biden’s comments, US officials promised to explore imposing multilateral measures along with allies against Russia if necessary.
This news comes as thousands of Russians have taken to the streets in the wake of Putin’s annual national address to demonstrate their support for Navalny and his movement. Unfortunately, however, as a spokesperson for Navalny wrote recently in a Facebook post, “Alexei is dying”. Personal doctors for Navalny have been denied access to his prison and are in distress that this could be the end for Navalny if his immediate medical needs are not addressed.
In reference to the larger implications of Navalny’s imprisonment, FBK and Navalny ally Leonid Volkov wrote, "The darkest times are beginning for free-thinking people, for civil society in Russia". Although millions of Navalny supporters will remain to continue his work and the work of anti-corruption forces in Russia, the death of Navalny would once again signal that Putin’s commitment is to power and not to the people of Russia.
Alexandra Smith is a recent graduate of Loyola University Maryland where she studied Political Science and Philosophy. Alexandra is an incoming Master's student at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium where she will focus on European Union governance and foreign policy. Her research and academic interests include international relations, game theory, genocide studies, and continental philosophy.