'Murder Putin allowed himself to perpetrate': How Navalny's death will impact Russia
Alexei Navalny (Getty Images)
The death of Russian politician Alexei Navalny is unlikely to lead to any upheaval within Russia and there won't be anything significant happening. There will be a lot of talks, but in fact, no one will take any action, says a military and political expert of the Information Resistance Group, Oleksandr Kovalenko, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
According to the expert, he has mixed feelings about Navalny because there are many questions to the Russian politician who positioned himself as an opposition figure to Putin's regime.
"It is a murder Putin allowed himself to perpetrate. Moreover, in my opinion, it's a demonstrative execution. Putin needed it to once again show that he has unlimited power. Last year, he demonstratively killed Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, showing what will happen to those who oppose him and his entourage with weapons in their hands," Kovalenko says.
In his opinion, Navalny's fate demonstrates that there can be no opposition in Russia.
"If he were a valuable prisoner for the Russian authorities, they would have protected him very carefully. But it was an elimination. Most importantly, it happened on the eve of the presidential elections in Russia, on the eve of the federal assembly's message, and after Putin's interview with Tucker Carlson," the expert concludes.
Navalny's death: What is known so far
Today, the Federal Penitentiary Service reported the death of Russian politician Alexei Navalny in Correctional Colony No. 3 in the village of Kharp, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
It is reported that after a walk, the politician felt unwell, and almost immediately lost consciousness. Medics who arrived at the scene declared his death.
Russian propaganda claims that Navalny had a detached thrombus. The official cause of death of the politician is not known.
At the same time, Navalny's team has not confirmed the politician's death yet. His lawyer visited the colony yesterday, and at that time, everything was "normal" with Navalny.
Alexei Navalny positioned himself as an opposition politician to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2020, there was an attempt on his life, as he was poisoned.
Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison for extremism and fraud, he was also accused of other crimes.
Recently, Navalny was transferred from Moscow to a high-security prison colony beyond the Arctic Circle, where he first made contact on January 10.
