Russian Dissident in Prison

Image courtesy of National Review

By Jack Rowing

Putin’s arch rival in Russian politics might die in prison. Alexei Navalny is currently facing extreme conditions for violations of his parole by leaving the country. The story of how he ended up in prison and the conditions he faces in the prison present the story of a journalist battling for freedom in a major totalitarian power. 

Alexei Navalny is a journalist and activist. His ability as a speaker, and his YouTube account with 6.5 million followers exposes flaws in the Putin regime. He has published work that criticized the corruption in the regime and one on his famous expose on the Putin palace is valued at over a billion dollars. He has been a leader at many protests and freedom movements within Russia. 

His work has granted him a large following, but just as many powerful enemies. In 2017, he had a chemical sprayed into his eyes at a protest movement, attempting to blind or injure him, and in 2020, he was poisoned while in police custody. 

Recently though, he faced the greatest attack on his personhood. He was poisoned, using a modified Soviet era nerve agent. He was rushed to a German hospital in an undisclosed location, where he received treatment and was saved. The agent was originally thought to be planted within tea, but was later discovered by Navalny himself to have been placed within his underwear. He discovered this by disguising his phone number and using his cell phone to pose as a Russian agent and asked about the operation. 

When asked about the incident and Putin’s involvement, he said: “This is his only method—to kill people. No matter how much he pretends to be a great geopolitician, he’ll go into history as a poisoner…There was Aleksander the Liberator, Yaroslav the Wise, and Vladimir the Poisoner of Underpants.”

After he recovered, he returned to Russia, on January 17, 2021. He was arrested on arrival for violations of his parole. The leaving of the country to receive medical treatment for the positioning was deemed a crime; as he was not supposed to leave the country.  

Currently he is residing in a Russian prison, approximately 80 miles outside Moscow in Pokrov. He is currently on a hunger strike against the conditions in the prison. The medical care and prison conditions are reportedly dismal at best. He was denied a family photo album and a copy of the Quran. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has called for his immediate release. His network of supporters have amassed over 400,000 signatures of Russian citizens to request a release. However roughly 48% of Russians believe the sentence was fair, and it is unlikely Putin will cave to the populist demands. 

Dr. Askonsas, CUA Professor of Politics gave The Tower, historical context for the current state of affairs; discussing how Navalny is engaging in a “Russian Gambit” that requires him to remain in prison, or not seem to have struck a deal with the Russians. Former Russian dissident Burkovsky, had been released on Russian terms, and his activism slowly faded with his release. Navalny’s future activism is contingent upon his ability to not seem to be colluding with the Russians government.