Who Was Navalny? A Timeline of the Putin Critic’s Profession

Aleksei A. Navalny, the outspoken activist who died in jail on Friday, was born on June 4, 1976, in line with his web site, and grew up exterior Moscow to liberal dad and mom who opposed Soviet rule.

Beginning his political profession as an anticorruption blogger who organized road protests, Mr. Navalny mobilized a era of younger Russians by means of social media and rose to prominence for investigations into Russia’s elite.

Right here’s a take a look at Mr. Navalny’s profession:

2000

Mr. Navalny, who had studied legislation and finance and labored as an actual property lawyer, joined the liberal Yabloko social gathering the identical yr that Vladimir V. Putin was first elected president of Russia. Trying to arrange grass-roots opposition to the Kremlin, he took goal at what he referred to as lawless Moscow building initiatives, moderated political debates, began a radio present and criticized pro-Putin tycoons on a broadly learn weblog.

Mr. Navalny led protests of thousands of Russians who had been outraged over reviews of fraud in Russia’s parliamentary elections that yr, drawing the most important anti-Kremlin demonstrations since Mr. Putin turned president.

2013

Mr. Navalny was barred from a presidential run after a Russian courtroom convicted him on fraud costs. He organized nationwide protests and boycotts towards Mr. Putin’s re-election and constructed up places of work and investigative groups throughout the nation to analyze Russia’s elite.

The Russian authorities responded by jailing him, accusing him of cash laundering and raiding the properties and places of work of activists with whom he was affiliated.

August 2020

Whereas flying again to Moscow from Siberia, Mr. Navalny fell violently unwell, forcing the airplane to make an emergency touchdown. Greater than two days after he misplaced consciousness, Mr. Navalny was flown to Germany for therapy, after the flight was delayed by Russian docs who blocked his switch.

Weeks later, the German authorities mentioned that Mr. Navalny had been poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent referred to as Novichok, a category of chemical weapon developed by the Soviet Union. The same weapon had been utilized in 2018 towards Sergei V. Skripal, a former Soviet spy, and his daughter in an assault in England that the British authorities attributed to Russian military intelligence.

December 2020

Bellingcat, an open-source investigative outlet, published a report exhibiting that Russian intelligence officers from the Federal Safety Service, or F.S.B., had trailed Mr. Navalny for years and had been shut by when he was uncovered to Novichok. The Kremlin continued to disclaim any involvement in his poisoning.

Days later, Mr. Navalny posted a video on his YouTube channel that he mentioned confirmed him calling a Russian intelligence officer and tricking him into confessing to a plot to kill Mr. Navalny by planting poison on his underwear.

5 months after he was poisoned, Mr. Navalny flew again to Moscow and was arrested upon arrival. Tens of thousands of protesters, principally younger Russians, took to the streets to demand his launch within the biggest public showdown in years between the Kremlin and its critics.

Two months later, the Russian authorities ordered Mr. Navalny to serve a two-year prison sentence in a penal colony recognized for its abusive therapy of inmates, starting a string of jail phrases for costs that his supporters mentioned had been based mostly on fabricated costs. He went on a weekslong starvation strike to protest the jail’s lack of correct medical therapy, inflicting his well being to deteriorate.

January 2022

“Navalny,” a documentary following the activist for months as he investigated his personal poisoning, premiered on the Sundance Movie Competition. The movie, by Canadian director Daniel Roher, acquired the Academy Award for finest documentary function the next yr. Yulia Navalnaya, Mr. Navalny’s spouse, said onstage on the ceremony that her husband had been imprisoned for “telling the truth” and “defending democracy.”

August 2023

A Russian courtroom sentenced Mr. Navalny, who was nonetheless in jail, to an extra 19 years on costs of supporting “extremism.” The courtroom dominated that the sentence was to be served concurrently along with his current ones, that means he would in all probability have been locked up till 2031.

December 2023

Mr. Navalny’s aides misplaced contact with him for 20 days. Lastly, his spokeswoman mentioned he had been discovered — the authorities had moved him to a Arctic penal colony formally often known as IK-3 Polar Wolf, situated in probably the most distant cities of Russia and recognized for its harsh situations.

Feb. 15

He was final seen publicly on Thursday, when he appeared in by way of video hyperlink in a courtroom listening to, standing in a jail cage and sporting a black gown.

The next day, the Russian authorities reported that he had misplaced consciousness and died after taking a stroll on the jail.

Feb. 17

Mr. Navalny’s spokeswoman confirmed his loss of life, saying that his mom had gone to the penal colony the place he had been held and been informed that Russian investigators had transferred Mr. Navalny’s physique to the Arctic city of Salekhard.