The Journal. - Alexei Navalny, Putin’s Loudest Critic, Dies in a Russian Prison

Episode Date: February 16, 2024

For years, anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny has been an outspoken critic and political foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Today, Russian prison authorities reported Navalny died at the age of 47. WSJ’s Ann Simmons delves into Navalny’s life, death and what this moment means for Russia. Further Reading: - Alexei Navalny Spent His Final Years Hounded—but Undeterred—by the Kremlin  - Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin’s Most Ardent Critic, Dies in Prison  Further Listening: - Russia's Media Crackdown: 'The Future is Pretty Dark'  - The Plane Crash That Killed Yevgeny Prigozhin  - Inside Russia’s Spy Unit Targeting Americans  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four years ago, Russian anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny was in Germany. He had just survived a poisoning attack and was preparing to return to Russia. My message for the situation when I'm killed. It's very simple, not give up. Since he returned to Russia, Navalny has been in jail. Yesterday, he had a court appearance. On a video from a Siberian prison, he was seen laughing and cracking jokes. Today, Russian prison authorities reported that Navalny died.

He was 47 years old. Here's our colleague Anne Simmons. Navalny was one of the few remaining voices that actually got under President Putin's skin. And he was determined to rally Russian citizens. His death comes not only as a shock to many, but it also is a shock to the opposition movement because it really does show now that this was indeed,

one could say, the last nail in the coffin of the opposition. Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business and power. I'm Kate Linebaugh. It's Friday, February 16th. Coming up on the show, the life of Alexei Navalny, Putin's most ardent critic. Attention all soccer fans, From Orlando to Los Angeles, take to the fields of the USA for your next vacation. Ready to kick off? Discover exciting games and events.

Plus, find amazing hidden gems in cities full of adventures, delicious food, and diverse cultures. You'll love it so much, you'll want to extend your stay beyond the matches. Get the ball rolling on your soccer getaway. Head to visittheusa.com. Alexei Navalny was a lawyer and an activist, and he was a singular figure in Russian politics. Outspoken and strident, he pulled no punches in going after Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin for what he called rampant corruption. His main criticism was that Putin, as Navalny had said, Putin and the regime had basically enslaved the Russian people.

enslaved the Russian people. He said that it had become a money-making business, the Kremlin, where anyone who was a supporter of the Russian president, the Russian president and his cronies, they were getting rich. And he pointed to several episodes of corruption. He's a czar of corruption. He's the basement of this corruption. And he's personally involved in corruption, and he's encouraging our officials for corruption because it's his way of ruling the country. He also did videos that purported to show the lavish lifestyle of President Putin. Of course, one should add, the Kremlin, of course, denied all of it,

always would come back and say that, you know, the Kremlin, it supports all Russians and it supports equality for all Russians. And of course, there's no corruption here. But Navalny and his team were constant. Navalny became a thorn in Putin's side, so much so that President Putin wouldn't even utter his name. In 2013, Navalny made a big splash in Russian politics when he ran for mayor of Moscow. Navalny managed to really get a lot of support from the Russian populace. He came really close, and that showed the Kremlin and Russian authorities at the time that this person has influence. He's able to get all of these votes. Of course, he was not allowed to win, according to his supporters. They believe that there were

certain shenanigans that made sure that he was not able to go forward. And after that, what does he do? After his bid to become Moscow mayor failed, he started to really campaign against the Kremlin. I should add that he did form what was called an anti-corruption foundation. And this foundation had branches all across the country. And he would basically help local politicians, local opposition politicians who wanted to get on the political ladder or get further up or become a member of a political or local council. He would throw his weight behind them. In March 2017, Navalny called for massive demonstrations in cities around Russia to protest corruption.

In Moscow's Pushkin Square, crowds chanted Russia without Putin and faced off with police in riot gear. Navalny and hundreds of others were arrested. Then, of course, we know that Navalny was attacked several times during his political career. In 2017, he was attacked and nearly blinded. There was an incident where someone threw some kind of green liquid in his face and it got into his eye and his face turned green. Later that year, Navalny made a bold move. He said he wanted to challenge Putin in the 2018 election. A lot of the Russian population knew that this was a legitimate opposition candidate to Putin. The other so-called opposition, the sanctioned opposition,

people knew that, you know, they were kind of just puppets, that if you voted for a member of the sanctioned opposition, you were still essentially voting for the regime. So Navalny was seen as a legitimate candidate for those who wanted to support an opposition. And what happened to his presidential ambitions? He was not able to challenge Putin at the ballot box in 2018 because he had what the Kremlin said was a prior conviction

because he had been accused of criminal wrongdoing, including alleged embezzlement in 2013 and 2014. And he, of course, denied the charges. After he was prevented from running, Navalny said in a video, quote, Putin is terribly scared and is afraid of running against me. He called on his supporters to boycott the election. Why did he persist? He's getting arrested over and over, and there are these physical attacks on him.

Why did he keep pushing the envelope? This really speaks to Navalny's character. He had always said that, you know, if you want change, you've got to go out there and rally people. You have to be vocal. You can't sit back and complain to yourself or to members of your family around the kitchen table. You need to be out there. And I think in some ways, one might say, and some analysts have said that he kind of thought he was kind of untouchable in many ways because he was so

prolific, because he was so public and in the public eye. He himself said a couple of times that, you know, they're not going to touch me. I'm too kind of visible. And obviously he was wrong in that regard. Navalny wasn't untouchable. That's next. We'll be right back. that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol and select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app for details. Discover more value than ever at Loblaws, like price drop. Hear that? Loblaws lowers prices every four weeks on a selection of items, so you can save more. Whether it's pantry staples or seasonal favorites, you can look forward to new discounts throughout the aisles at Loblaws to get your essentials at great prices. It's your cue to stock up and save.

Look for new value programs when you shop at Loblaws in-store and online. In the summer of 2020, Navalny was traveling around Russia, speaking to local opposition politicians and helping them organize. Oh, he was extremely outspoken and vocal and basically told his supporters and all Russian citizens that it was time to rise up. It was time to speak out. He was very much kind of, in many ways, a community organizer. He used that to his advantage. In August that year, he boarded a flight from Siberia to Moscow. He fell ill aboard this flight,

and there's video of him really writhing in pain and screaming out. Here's Navalny talking about the incident to 60 Minutes. I said to the flight attendant, and I kind of shocked him with my statement, well, I was poisoned, and I'm going to die. And I immediately lay down under his feet. And he was basically taken off the flight and taken to a hospital in the city of Omsk. Now, his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was extremely worried

and so were his associates that he was being kept in a Russian hospital. And she was at the forefront leading the charge to have her husband evacuated to Germany. Well, a medical plane was chartered by a German non-governmental organization. And yes, Navalny was transported out of the country. He was actually in a coma on a ventilator at the time, and he was transported to Germany for treatment there. And what happened from there? In Germany, he underwent a series of tests. He was in a coma for a long while.

He was undergoing treatment under the supervision of German medical professionals. medical professionals. And German scientists actually determined that he had been poisoned as a result of being exposed to a nerve agent called Novichok. Now, Novichok is a Soviet-era nerve agent. And many analysts have said that only members of, you know, very high up in the Russian regime would possibly have access to this type of poison. And who did Navalny hold responsible? Navalny held the Kremlin responsible for his poisoning. He was adamant that Putin has tried to harm me. Putin has tried to harm me, Putin has tried to kill me. And Navalny and his supporters

definitely saw this as an assassination attempt. The Kremlin has said it wasn't involved. The U.S. and the EU sanctioned Russia after the poisoning. But even after this, what he sees as an assassination attempt, he returned to Russia. Why? He often said that, yes, you know, it's easy to kind of be a rabble rouser or to make noise outside. But really what he wanted to do was be outspoken in his own country. He said, I'm Russian, I'm returning home. And he actually told his supporters on social media just before his return that they should not be afraid of anything. As soon as Navalny arrived in Russia, he was actually taken into detention at the airport and he remained in jail from that time.

From jail? Was he able to get his message out? Yes, and he was adamant, I'm not going to keep quiet. I'm in prison for political reasons. He would call Putin a thief. He called the regime corrupt. And he kept telling his supporters and anyone who would listen, we've got to keep up the fight. And then a few months ago, he disappeared. What happened there? That's correct. His supporters, his associates sounded the alarm because they said Navalny had gone missing. It turns out that he was being transferred to another prison from outside Moscow.

He was being transferred to a prison above the Arctic Circle. And he did reappear after several days. And he basically said, you know, I'm still here. He urged his supporters not to be afraid. He said that, you know, fear basically robs our country of our future. So he told his supporters to try and overcome their fear. He says, you know, he basically in the message told them, don't worry about me. I'm fine. And of course, you know, several weeks later, he was dead. And what do we know about how he died? At this time, there is very scant information about the causes of Navalny's death.

According to prison authorities, he had gone for a walk and when he came back, he collapsed. Again, it's very difficult to get information from Russian authorities. We may never know what happened to Navalny. We can only go with now what the prison authorities have told us. The Kremlin has said that there is kind of an investigation into his death because although we do not know officially when the last time he was seen or heard from, his associates said up until recently he was actually doing okay. What has the reaction been to Navalny's death?

It's difficult to know how much has been shared within the country in Russia because in general there was never any news about Navalny's incarceration, about the fact that he was criticizing Putin. Again, the Kremlin tried to keep him very much off the radar. What about the reaction outside of Russia? The reaction outside of Russia has been tremendous outrage, especially in European capitals, also in the United States. Russian authorities are going to tell their own story.

But make no mistake, make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death. Putin is responsible. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin's brutality. And just hours after the news of his death, Navalny's wife made a statement. I would like that Putin and all his coterie, Putin's friends, his government, to know that they

will be accountable for what they've done to our country. How would you describe this day I think it's a day of great reflection it's going to be one where not only Russians but people outside of the country the diaspora a Russian diaspora really start to take stock of what does it mean to be Russian? What kind of authority do we have in power in our country? And what can we do about it, if anything at all? I think it's going to be a day of mourning for many of Navalny's supporters and associates. And it's going to be a day of, I think, reflection and fear and great trauma for many in Russia.

But of course, Navalny said, don't be afraid. That is correct. But that is a very, you know, it's an easy statement to make. The level of repression in Russia today is extreme. You can be picked up on the street and put away for seven or ten years for doing something that is deemed to be opposed to Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. Anything that is seen as discrediting the Russian military can land you in jail for a significant period of time. And it's a chilling factor for many inside Russia. You know, those who might want to speak up now feel terrified about doing that. What does it mean for Putin's power?

It really shows that Putin is in many ways unchallengeable. It doesn't matter who you are. You cannot go up against President Putin. And again, I say that we do not know, you know, the cause of Navalny's death. But again, it was Russian authorities who put him in prison for what he and his associates say were political charges. And so it does so show that the strength of Vladimir Putin and his regime in the sense that, you know, repression really does play a role. Repression is strength for the regime. And Putin is the last man standing. That's all for today, Friday, February 16th.

The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal. Our engineers are Our theme music Nathan Singapak, and Peter Leonard. Our theme music is by So Wiley. Additional music this week by Catherine Anderson, Marcus Begala, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, Nathan Singapak, Griffin Tanner, So Wiley, and Blue Dot Sessions. Fact-checking by Mary Mathis.

We're off Monday for President's Day. We'll be back on Tuesday with a new episode. Fact-checking by Mary Mathis. We're off Monday for President's Day. We'll be back on Tuesday with a new episode. Thanks for listening. See you then.