German Chancellor Olaf Scholz paid tribute to the Kremlin's main opponent Alex Navalny, who died in prison a year ago today, "because he fought for democracy and freedom in Russia", reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
"Putin fought brutally against freedom and its defenders. This made Navalny's work even more courageous", the chancellor emphasized in "Ex". "His courage changed things and goes far beyond his death," Scholz added.
A charismatic fighter against corruption and political enemy number one of Vladimir Putin, Navalny was declared an "extremist" by Russian courts. He died under unclear circumstances in an Arctic prison on February 16, 2024.
Despite the risk of repression by the authorities, his supporters will hold memorial events today, including a visit to his grave in Moscow. Memorial events are also planned in other countries. His widow, Yulia Navalny, who took over the leadership of his movement, will attend a memorial in Berlin, where many Russian opposition supporters live.
In the year since Navalny died at the age of 47, the Russian opposition has failed to unite in the fight against President Vladimir Putin, the Associated Press notes.
Outlawed at home and operating in exile abroad, it has failed to form a united front and a clear plan of action against the Kremlin. Instead, the rival groups have traded accusations that some see as efforts to discredit each other and compete for influence.
Navalny's death is a "point of no return" and leaves a void that cannot be filled, said Oleg Ivanov, an opposition supporter who fled Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and lives in Los Angeles. "Alexei was the only hope that Russia had, at least potentially and hypothetically, some significant leader who could unite all the people who want to change something in our country, in our lives," Ivanov said in an interview with the AP.
"I'm afraid there's no one left who could somehow oppose" of the Kremlin, he added.
Navalny is the second opposition leader whose sudden death has shocked Russia and the world. In February 2015, prominent politician Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on a bridge near the Kremlin just days before he, Navalny and others were to lead a mass rally against Vladimir Putin's rule.
In 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent, which he blamed on the Kremlin, which has always denied involvement. His family and allies fought to have him transported to Germany for treatment and recovery. Five months later, he returned to Russia, where he was immediately arrested and imprisoned for the last three years of his life.
But even behind bars, under incredibly harsh conditions of constant pressure and surveillance, Navalny found ways to get his messages across. His popular social media accounts were regularly updated with sarcastic comments about prison life and political statements.
Authorities declared his death, announced on February 16, 2024, to be natural - the result of a sudden rise in blood pressure and chronic illnesses. His family and allies deny this and insist he was killed on the orders of the Kremlin, allegations that the authorities deny.
Tens of thousands of people attended Navalny's funeral in Moscow on March 1, a rare show of defiance in a country where any street rally or even isolated protests often result in immediate arrest, the AP notes.
For days afterward, people laid flowers at his grave.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation set up by Navalny continues to expose corruption in Russia in colorful videos and occasionally organizes protests abroad, condemning President Putin and the war in Ukraine.