The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny Dead

[Lottij]

He was feeling unwell after a walk, apparently.

Putin was always going to get him, I don't think anyone doubted it, but my stomach dropped when I just read it.

Thanks, and yes you're right, we should be talking about him, what he stood for, his bravery, his legacy, and keep on doing it.

I can't stop thinking about him and what he went through.

Was he brave? Or was he foolhardy? There was only ever going to be one outcome. Once he’d survived and been treated in Germany, I wish he’d stayed and fought from there, but perhaps he had family he couldn’t leave? He obviously had strong reasons.That said, once he’d been imprisoned he was made less and less accessible and was never going to be freed under Putin. I guess he wasn’t safe wherever he was.

It takes more than guts to stand up to that regime. As said above, truth is often wilder than fiction. I’m desperately sorry for his later years and his death.

I always thought that he would be a free man one day, although I know it was always unlikely. He embodied the hope that one day Russia would emerge as a free and democratic country.

Agree with the poster who said the more we talk the better.

Ingest we live in a world currently where people are silenced against speaking out about what is right.

When we don't stand up for what it right it empowered and emboldens those leading it.

May he RIP and May his legacy live on and become a reality.

Incredible courage.

It blows my mind that some westerners support Putin.

A truly heroic man. May he RIP.

So sad and so inevitable. The world seems to be incapable of stopping Putin . I hope one day he's displayed on a lamp post with his knob in his mouth .

What terrible news! So sad for his lovely family. No doubt that Putin and his murderous regime is behind this, Alexey was pretty much tortured to death. Will the Russians go out to protest en masse in Russia? I somewhat doubt it. Of course he should have stayed in Germany, but he felt that he must return to Russia. So courageous, but so tragic... 😢😢😢 RIP

I put this on the other thread, but it seems reasonable to repeat it here.

It was always a mater of time either through direct intervention or allowing the conditions to do the job for him. Navalny was a brave man and aware of what he was doing and the costs.
RIP, and deepest sympathies to his wife and children.

Keep Vladimir Kara-Murza (and his family) in your thoughts too, poisoned twice, now serving 25 years. Another brave man paying the price for conscience.

Yes i agree. The only real surprise is that it did not happen earlier. But I think Putin likes to play with his victims.

A brave brave man. God bless him and his family.

It's appalling, but TBH I'm just surprised that he lasted this long. Putin tried to kill him before and it was only a matter of time before he succeeded. Navalny was brave but unbelievably foolish to return to Russia. He should've lived in exile. But RIP to a brave, principled man

Awful, awful news. His poor wife and family

Just because someone is Putin's enemy doesn't mean he was your friend. He ran on a white supremacist ticket for years and only switched to "uncovering corruption" (ie ratting out his former buddies) when his own political ambitions were thwarted.

It makes me really angry that Putin is getting away with it.

From BBC website:
Navalny never abandoned his hope and belief in what his team called "the beautiful Russia of the future" – the end of Putin’s long and repressive rule and the prospect of political change in his country.
But since the activist’s arrest, Putin has launched a war on Ukraine, Navalny’s own political organisation has been banned as "extremist", his team members arrested, and all well-known critics of Putin have fled the country - or been imprisoned.

“The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins.”
Soren Kierkegaard

He had a Villa in Cyprus near where ours is.
Loads of Russian hierarchicay did.. all standing empty now.

I don't think it's fair to describe him as foolish or foolhardy. He knew exactly what he was doing but had the strength of his convictions to face certain death. He died for what he believed in. He was flawed, yes. But nobody can doubt that he wasn't a principled man who sacrificed himself for what he believed was the greater good.

Wish someone would take Putin out.

This is so awful. What a brave man.
Trump loves Putin and it looks like he will be elected again so much of the world is lost to being run by psychopaths.

Awful story, I'm genuinely surprised it took so long.

Humbling.

RIP. Brave, brave man. Shows how weak Putin is that the only way he can deal with his critics is to kill them.

He was a brave man who should be celebrated around the world. A genuine hero. He knew what would happen to him and he stuck by his principles and died slowly and horribly for them. I can't begin to imagine the agony his family have been put through.

It says so much about Putin's level of fear and paranoia that he couldn't cope with a dissenting voice. What a vile, cowardly little man he is.

Konstantin Kisin offers some insight into the Russian psyche here:

Of course Russians will not be protesting en masse. Many of those who did previously when the Ukraine war started are still in prison, dead or have faced repercussions. His death is important to Russia, it will be inspiring for the people who want freedom from the regime. As someone who has lost family in Ukraine and had grandfathers who were both sent to gulags I can assure you this is not the end of it. It will take for Putins generation and then the next for this to truly die out. With the internet and social media Russia will not be able to close the eyes of the young generations. Many people do not understand not only the indoctrination used in Russian education and society but also not wanting to ‘rock the boat’ so that you and your family can live your life. Those Russians who
speak out and oppose Putin are brave, but I know if it was me I would keep my mouth shut and protect my family. My great aunt spoke out in Soviet occupied Latvia in the 1950s, she was imprisoned, tortured and killed - in her twenties by Čeka (KGB) her brother (my grandfather) complied with the KGB after torture, 6 years imprisonment and then was sent to a gulag for 18 years instead of being killed. When he returned, his sons were men, his wife was old and he was exhausted. One day there will be someone to lead a free Russia, but it won’t be too soon.

I was going to say 'Surprised it took Putin that long', but actually Putin probably enjoyed stringing it out like a cat toying with a mouse.