When an opposition leader received the financial backing from foreign interests....that's what was happening. The same way Russia meddles with our democracy...it's not acceptable.
I understand this and can see where you’re coming from, because Navalny himself said on his Instagram account that he received funding from a Russian businessman. He is transparent about this on his instagram and names the businessman and how much he has given him in funding whilst he was in Germany. So yes, I accept that Navalny was receiving financial backing from a Russian businessman based abroad who supported what he was trying to do. This funding was used to pay for things like the fees for his hospital treatment in Germany after he was poisoned, for instance.
However, Navalny’s ultimate goal was to create a democratic society in Russia that had free and open elections and that was free from corruption. I think that this is a very important and laudable goal because this will help all of Russia’s citizens and so it’s a very positive thing to try to achieve.
Conversely, Russia meddling in our democracy (as you mention here) is unacceptable because, ultimately, their goal is to do that to undermine democracy, create division and use that to benefit themselves and increase their power. Given this, I don’t think it’s appropriate to compare what Navalny was trying to do in Russia with what Russia is trying to do in other countries.
Also, a separate point, and I still need to learn much more about this to try and understand it more, but I don’t think Russia will ever accept NATO expansion - not while Putin is in power. I think that’s one of the reasons why Putin started this war with Ukraine.