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133-480: Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (Russian: Алексей Анатольевич Навальный , IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ nɐˈvalʲnɨj] ; 4 June 1976 – 16 February 2024) was a Russian opposition leader, anti- corruption activist and political prisoner . He founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in 2011. He was recognised by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience and

266-622: A Novichok nerve agent. He was medically evacuated to Berlin and discharged a month later. He accused President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his poisoning, and an investigation implicated agents from the Federal Security Service . In January 2021, Navalny returned to Russia and was immediately detained on accusations of violating parole conditions while hospitalised in Germany. Following his arrest, mass protests were held across Russia. The next month, Navalny's suspended sentence

399-534: A Zelyonka attack that can damage eyes of the victim. He had been attacked before, earlier in the spring. In the second attack, the green-colored disinfectant had evidently been mixed with a caustic chemical, resulting in a chemical burn to his right eye. He reportedly lost 80 percent of the sight in his right eye. Navalny accused the Kremlin of orchestrating the attack. Navalny was released from jail on 27 July 2017 after spending 25 days of imprisonment. Before that, he

532-557: A basket-weaving factory—which the couple have run since 1994—in Kobyakovo, a village in Vologda Oblast ; they were still running the factory as of 2012. Media regularly asked him whether he identified more as Russian or Ukrainian, and in his posthumously published memoir, Patriot , he states, "It was like being asked who you loved more, your mother or your father." Navalny graduated from Kalininets secondary school (level 3 according to

665-573: A Slave on Galleys (2012). Video versions of these reports, entitled Lies of Putin's regime , have been viewed by about 10 million times on the Internet. In addition, smaller-scale series of actions are conducted. For example, in Moscow in the spring of 2012 saw a series of flash mobs "White Square", when protesters walked through the Red Square with white ribbons, in the late spring and summer, they organized

798-460: A World Fellow at Yale University's World Fellows Program, Navalny aimed at "creating a global network of emerging leaders and to broaden international understanding" in 2010. From 1998 onward, Navalny worked as a corporate lawyer for various Russian companies. In 2009, Navalny became an advocate and a member of advocate's chamber ( bar association ) of Kirov Oblast (registration number 43/547). In 2010, due to his move to Moscow, he ceased to be

931-470: A candidate, openly declared that the election was a "sham", stating that "the only winner is known in advance" and "I understand perfectly well that in the current situation in Russia, participating in the presidential campaign is like sitting down at a table to play with card sharps". Girkin, a former FSB agent, was later sentenced to four years imprisonment. Boris Nadezhdin declared his intention to run on

1064-485: A candidate. In November, he was one of the initiators of the Youth Public Chamber, intended to help younger politicians take part in legislative initiatives. At the same time, in 2005, Navalny started another youth social movement, named "DA! – Democratic Alternative". The project was not connected to Yabloko or any other political party. Within the movement, Navalny participated in several projects. In particular, he

1197-467: A consolation goal". According to the official election results, the coalition scored 2% of votes, not enough to overcome the 5% threshold; the party admitted the election was lost. With growing popular support Navalny announced his entry into the presidential race on 13 December 2016, however on 8 February 2017, the Leninsky district court of Kirov repeated its sentence of 2013 (after the case has been sent to

1330-637: A day before the Crimean status referendum . The protests have been the largest in Russia since the 2011 protests. Reuters reported that 30,000 people participated in 15 March anti-war rally. On 26 March 2017, protests against alleged corruption in the Russian government took place simultaneously in many cities across the country. The protests began after the release of the film He Is Not Dimon to You by Alexei Navalny 's Anti-Corruption Foundation . An April 2017 Levada poll found that 45% of surveyed Russians supported

1463-487: A form of filter to stop unwanted developments for the Kremlin. On 30 January 2024, Kremlin propagandist and television presenter Vladimir Solovyov warned Nadezhdin: "I feel bad for Boris. The fool didn’t realize that he’s not being set up to run for president but for a criminal case on charges of betraying the Motherland." As predicted, on 8 February 2024 Nadezhdin was barred from running due to alleged "irregularities" in

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1596-465: A hostage), Kira Yarmysh , journalists Andrei Soldatov , Irina Borogan , Roman Badanin . The wave of repressions has been also linked with the September 2021 Duma elections. Protests against alleged large-scale fraud in favour of the ruling party were held. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , protesters have used the white-blue-white flag as a symbol of opposition though not all used

1729-543: A lack of unity within the opposition has also hindered its standing. Opposition figures claim that a number of laws have been passed and other measures taken by Putin's government to prevent them from having any electoral success. The Guardian 's report from Luke Harding noted that during the 2000s Neo-Nazis , Russian nationalists , and ultranationalist groups were the most significant opposition to Putin's government. Prominent Russian liberal opposition figure Alexei Navalny said before his 2020 poisoning that

1862-451: A live broadcast for Grigory Alekseevich . Everyone must be able to participate. This means that the more popular Kasparov and Ryzhkov would have been on the same live broadcast. This means that Kasyanov with his financial resources would take part in the elections. ... I argue that Yabloko has collapsed because it has turned itself to a sect . We demand that everyone must be a democrat, but we don't want to be democrats ourselves. ... And

1995-590: A member of advocate's chamber of Kirov Oblast and became a member of advocate's chamber of Moscow (registration number 77/9991). In November 2013, after the judgement in the Kirovles case had entered into force, Navalny was deprived of advocate status. In 2000, following the announcement of a new law that raised the electoral threshold for State Duma elections , Navalny joined the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko . According to Navalny,

2128-447: A member of the party. On 15 December 2012 Navalny expressed his support of the party, saying, "The People's Alliance is my party", but again refused to join it, citing the criminal cases against him. On 10 April 2013, the party filed documents for the official registration of the party. On 30 April, the registration of the party was suspended. On 5 July 2013 the party was declined registration; according to Izvestia , not all founders of

2261-484: A message from his imprisonment giving his backing to Nadezhdin's campaign. Navalny had himself been barred from the previous Russian presidential election in 2018 on what is widely seen as political grounds. Multiple sources, including from inside the Kremlin, stated that the Kremlin would likely seek to deny Nadezhdin a place on the ballot. The CEC regularly uses the process of having to collect signatures to refuse to register would-be opposition candidates, acting as

2394-551: A new trial with a different judge by the Supreme Court which annulled the initial sentence after the decision of ECHR , which ruled that Russia had violated Navalny's right to a fair trial, in the Kirovles case ) and re-sentenced him with a five-year suspended sentence. This sentence, if it came into force and remained valid, might prohibit the future official registration of Navalny as a candidate. Navalny announced that he would pursue

2527-476: A party of his, and this would need to be completed by PARNAS adsorbing members of the Progress Party and other parties of the coalition, and Navalny would be to come at some point when he "grows into this and feels this could be done" and join the party as well. The coalition claimed to have collected enough citizens' signatures for registration in the four regions it originally aimed for. However, in one region,

2660-529: A platform of opposing Putin and the Ukraine war. He quickly gained support, and queues formed in towns and villages across Russia and outside Boris Nadezhdin's headquarters in Moscow to sign their name in support of his bid for presidency. Footage showed how many thousands had queued even in the snow to sign their names, and he garnered "surprise levels of support", especially from younger urban Russians. The number of Russians who had turned up to sign their names

2793-423: A pro-government blogger. On 26 June 2012, it was announced that Navalny's comrades would establish a new political party based on e-democracy ; Navalny declared he did not plan to participate in this project at the moment. On 31 July, they filed a document to register an organising committee of a future party named "The People's Alliance". The party identified itself as centrist ; one of the then-current leaders of

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2926-527: A scenario is deemed to be suspicious due to multiple other 'sudden deaths' of those who have criticised Putin, such as Ravil Maganov and Yevgeny Prigozhin . Independent analysts also reject the authorities' medical explanations for his death. More than 50,000 Russians sent requests to the Russian government demanding that they return his body to his family. The authorities belatedly returned Navalny's body eight days after his death, and upon his burial on Moscow thousands defied likely repression to appear in

3059-481: A single party, RPR-PARNAS, which is not only eligible for participation in statewide elections, but is also currently not required to collect citizens' signatures for the right to participate in the State Duma elections scheduled for September 2016, due to the regional parliament mandate previously taken by Nemtsov. The candidates RPR-PARNAS would appoint were to be chosen via primary elections . On 5 July 2015, Kasyanov

3192-597: A snap election, mentioning the Muscovites would agree the governor elections should take place in the city of Moscow and the surrounding Moscow Oblast simultaneously. On 6 June, the request was granted, and the next day, the Moscow City Duma appointed the election on 8 September, the national voting day. On 3 June, Navalny announced he would run for the post. To become an official candidate, he would need either seventy thousand signatures of Muscovites or to be pegged for

3325-421: A suspended sentence for embezzlement , in 2013 and 2014. Both criminal cases have been widely considered politically motivated and intended to bar him from running in future elections. He ran in the 2013 Moscow mayoral election and came in second with 27.2% of the vote, but was barred from running in the 2018 presidential election . In August 2020, Navalny was hospitalised after being severely poisoned with

3458-515: Is 34 kilometers (21 mi) southwest of Moscow and 25 kilometers (16 mi) northeast of Naro-Fominsk on the Little Moscow Ring (Russian: Малом Московском кольце) route A-107 between the Kiev and Minsk highways. Population: 21,774 ( 2010 Census ) ; 23,873 ( 2002 Census ) ; 9,304 ( 1979 Census ) As an administrative division, Kalininets was raised from a rural locality to

3591-546: Is a "privilege" for those who can "afford it". In 2022 and 2023 Political experts in Russia and in the United States have described the far-right ultranationalist opposition to Putin as possibly "the most serious challenge" to the Russian regime. Some observers noted what they described as a " generational struggle " among Russians over perception of Putin's rule, with younger Russians more likely to be against Putin and his policies and older Russians more likely to accept

3724-458: Is a pun on the slang term " распил " (literally "sawing"), implying the embezzlement of state funds. In May 2011, Navalny launched RosYama (literally "Russian Hole"), a project that allowed individuals to report potholes and track government responses to complaints. In August, Navalny published papers related to a scandalous real estate deal between the Hungarian and Russian governments. According to

3857-575: Is mainly composed of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), A Just Russia – For Truth (SRZP), New People and other minor parties; these political groups, while claiming to be in opposition, generally support the government's policies. Major political parties considered to be part of the non-systemic opposition include Yabloko and the People's Freedom Party (PARNAS), along with

3990-423: Is unprecedented in Russia. It achieved a high profile through an unprecedentedly large campaign organisation that involved around 20,000 volunteers who passed out leaflets and hung banners, in addition to conducting several campaign rallies a day around the city; they were the main driving force for the campaign. The New Yorker described the resulted campaign as "a miracle", along with Navalny's release on 19 July,

4123-440: The 2019 Moscow City Duma election Navalny supported independent candidates, most of whom were not allowed to participate in the elections, which led to mass street protests. In July 2019, Navalny was arrested, first for ten days, and then, almost immediately, for 30 days. On the evening of 28 July, he was hospitalised with severe damage to his eyes and skin. At the hospital, he was diagnosed with an "allergy," although this diagnosis

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4256-545: The Central Election Commission , which claimed that she had made '100 mistakes' such as spelling errors on her forms and so should be denied registration. The BBC reported on Dunstova's rejection that: "the immediate slap-down of a Putin critic will be seen as evidence by some that no dissent will be tolerated in the campaign". The nationalist and previously pro-Putin Igor Girkin , who also attempted to become

4389-400: The Central Election Commission of Russia , after which the coalition has been registered as a participant in a regional election in one of the three contested regions, Kostroma Oblast . According to a source of Gazeta.ru "close to the Kremlin", the presidential administration saw coalition's chances as very low, yet was wary, but the restoration in one region occurred so PARNAS could "score

4522-577: The Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists (BOAK) regarded by The Insider as "The most active 'subversive' force" within Russia since the war began, the National Republican Army , the Freedom of Russia Legion , and the far-right Russian Volunteer Corps . On June 23, 2023, forces loyal to Yevgeny Prigozhin 's Wagner Group began a mutiny against the Russian government. Citing

4655-676: The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe invited Russian authorities, in connection with the Kirovles case , "to use urgently further avenues to erase the prohibition on Mr. Navalny's standing for election". Navalny was sentenced to 20 days in jail on 2 October 2017 for calls to participate in protests without approval from state authorities. In December 2017, Russia's Central Electoral Commission barred Navalny from running for president in 2018, citing Navalny's corruption conviction. The European Union said Navalny's removal cast "serious doubt" on

4788-768: The ISCED ) in 1993. He graduated from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in 1998 with a law degree . He then studied securities and exchanges at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation , graduating in 2001. In 2010, upon recommendation from Garry Kasparov , Yevgeniya Albats and Sergey Guriev , Navalny received a scholarship to the Yale World Fellows program at Yale University , where he studied political science and world affairs. As

4921-692: The Investigative Committee of Russia , owned an undeclared business in the Czech Republic . The posting was described by the Financial Times as Navalny's "answering shot" for having had his emails leaked during his arrest in the previous month. In August 2018, Navalny alleged that Viktor Zolotov stole at least US$ 29 million from procurement contracts for the National Guard of Russia . Shortly after his allegations against Zolotov, Navalny

5054-471: The Russian Constitution . Since 31 July 2009, the protests were held in Moscow on Triumfalnaya Square on the 31st of every month with 31 days. Strategy-31 was led by writer Eduard Limonov and human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva . Starting from 5 December 2011, the day after the elections to the State Duma, there have been repeated massive political actions of Russian citizens who disagree with

5187-874: The Russian Ministry of Defence 's, and namely the Russian Minister of Defense , Sergei Shoigu 's mishandling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , as well as claiming the Russian army shelled one of the Wagner group's barracks, resulting in casualties. Wagner occupied the city of Rostov-on-Don , surrounding and then seizing the headquarters of the Southern Military District . Prigozhin vowed to march on Moscow and arrest Shoigu, and other Russian generals, and put them on trial for murder of Wagner personnel. There were no sizeable spontaneous displays of public support for

5320-571: The Wall of Grief . The Moscow Prosecutor's Office warned Russians against mass protests. Hundreds of people across more than 30 Russian cities were detained by police merely for attending makeshift memorials to Navalny. The authorities further aroused suspicion by refusing to release Navalny's body to his family for over a week after his death, with his wife stating that his body was being kept until traces of intentional poisoning by Novichok had disappeared. He had previously been poisoned with Novichok by

5453-472: The Work Settlement of Kalininets on July 11, 2006. Kalininets is the most populous settlement of the urban settlement Kalininets, which includes the villages of Petrovskoye , Burtsevo , Novosusino , Selyatino , Sumino , Taraskovo , and Yushkovo . Nearby Selyatino in the municipal entity of Selyatino provides local bus service . Selyatino has a hospital . Local Bus #55 provides service between

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5586-457: The presidential election , which was held on 4 March 2012. After his release, Navalny informed reporters that it would be senseless for him to run in the presidential elections because the Kremlin would not allow the elections to be fair, but if free elections were held, he would "be ready" to run. On 24 December, he helped lead a demonstration, estimated at 50,000 people, which was much larger than

5719-598: The resignation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev , against it 33% of respondents. Newsweek reported that "An opinion poll by the Moscow-based Levada Center indicated that 38 percent of Russians supported the rallies and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption." A May 2017 Levada poll found that 58% of surveyed Russians supported the protests, while 23% said they disapprove. From July 2018, almost every weekend, protest rallies and demonstrations were organized against

5852-519: The "European choice"; Navalny's Progress Party was seen as one of the potential participants. However, on 27 February 2015, Nemtsov was shot dead . Prior to his assassination, Nemtsov worked on a project of a coalition, in which Navalny and Khodorkovsky would become co-chairmen of RPR-PARNAS. Navalny declared merging parties would invoke bureaucratic difficulties and question the legitimacy of party's right to participate in federal elections without signatures collecting. However, Nemtsov's murder accelerated

5985-549: The Hospital and nearby Aprelevka train station. Golitsyno has a hospital, too. Bus #39 (Russian: маршрут No.39) from Kievskaya train station (Russian: Киевского вокзала), Odintsovo station (Russian: станции Одинцово), in Moscow provides service to nearby Golitsyno. From Golitysno, local bus #60 Selyatino to Golitsyno travels along the Little Moscow Ring (Russian: Малом Московском кольце) route A-107 and has stops in Kalininets. Along

6118-606: The Kremlin was "far more afraid of ultra-nationalists than they were of him", noting that "[the ultranationalists] use the same imperial rhetoric as Putin does, but they can do it much better than him". On 4 March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill introducing prison sentences of up to 15 years for spreading "fake news" about Russia's military operation in Ukraine; thousands of Russians have been prosecuted under this law for criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including opposition politician Ilya Yashin and artist Aleksandra Skochilenko . Persecution

6251-408: The Kremlin!" In a Levada Center poll carried out from 24 to 25 July 2020, 45% of surveyed Russians viewed the protests positively, 26% neutrally and 17% negatively. On 23 January 2021, protests across Russia were held in support of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny , who was detained and then jailed after returning to Russia on 17 January following his poisoning . A few days before

6384-601: The Moscow branch of Yabloko, where he remained until February 2007. Also in 2004, he became Deputy Chief of the Moscow branch of the party. From 2006 to 2007, he was a member of the Federal Council of the party. In August 2005, Navalny was admitted to the Social Council of the Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow, created before the Moscow City Duma election held later that year , in which he took part as

6517-619: The Putin government during the rebellion. The Russian population displayed a predominantly "silent" and apathetic reaction. Russia analyst Anna Matveeva contrasted the Russian public's response to that of the Turkish public during the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt , where numerous Turkish citizens actively participated in anti-coup demonstrations. Putin was due to have to stand down as president in 2024 due to term limits in Russia's constitution , but it

6650-496: The Russian authorities. According to OVD-Info , at least 14,906 people were detained from 24 February to 13 March, including the largest single-day mass arrests in post-Soviet Russian history on 6 March. In February 2022, more than 30,000 technology workers, 6,000 medical workers, 3,400 architects, more than 4,300 teachers, more than 17,000 artists, 5,000 scientists, and 2,000 actors, directors, and other creative figures signed open letters calling for Putin's government to stop

6783-528: The Russian secret services in 2020 , which had only been discovered at the time as an emergency evacuation had been arranged to the specialist Charité hospital in Berlin , which then carried out the tests which identified the poison. Navalny's mother attempted to go to the prison colony he died in to collect Navalny's body, but was repeatedly obstructed from doing so and instead sent to a morgue where his body had never been taken, and not told where his body was. She

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6916-404: The aim of sabotaging the war effort and overthrowing Putin and his regime. These groups primarily engage in guerrilla warfare against the state and utilize the destruction of infrastructure such as railways , military recruitment centers , and radio towers, as well as other means to harm the state such as conducting assassinations. Some of the most notable groups involved in the conflict include

7049-539: The annulment of the sentence that clearly contradicts the decision of ECHR. Moreover, Navalny announced that his presidential campaign would proceed independently of court decisions. He referred to the Russian Constitution (Article 32), which deprives only two groups of citizens of the right to be elected: those recognised by the court as legally unfit and those kept in places of confinement by a court sentence. According to Freedom House and The Economist , Navalny

7182-542: The authorities, and participation was low. Several thousand people gathered without placards on Lubyanka Square and laid flowers at the Solovetsky Stone . In 2014, members of the Russian opposition have held anti-war protests in opposition to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and Crimean crisis . The March of Peace protests took place in Moscow on 15 March,

7315-498: The city of Salekhard misspelled as 'Salikhard', and one address in Rostov-on-Don typed up as 'Rostov-on-Dom'. Nadezhdin explained that the commission then used this to reject these signatures on the grounds that the address of these people "did not match". The commission also dubiously claimed that there were eleven dead people on Nadezhdin's list of signatures and that this disqualified his entire list of 105,000 signatures – which

7448-424: The coalition would declare some signatures and personal data have been altered by malevolent collectors; signatures in the other regions have been rejected by regional election commissions. In Novosibirsk Oblast , some election office staff went on a hunger strike, which was abandoned almost two weeks since its inception, when Khodorkovsky, Navalny, and Kasyanov publicly advised to do so. Сomplaints have been issued to

7581-575: The construction of the Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean oil pipeline . In December, Navalny announced the launch of the RosPil  [ ru ] project, which seeks to bring to light corrupt practices in the government procurement process. The project takes advantage of existing procurement regulation that requires all government requests for tender to be posted online. Information about winning bids must be posted online as well. The name RosPil

7714-575: The contested result, and an estimated 300 people were arrested, including Navalny. Navalny was arrested on 5 December. After a period of uncertainty for his supporters, Navalny appeared in court and was sentenced to a maximum of 15 days "for defying a government official". Alexei Venediktov , editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow radio station, called the arrest "a political mistake: jailing Navalny transforms him from an online leader into an offline one". After his arrest, his blog became available in English. Navalny

7847-433: The day after Putin was inaugurated, Navalny and Udaltsov were arrested after an anti-Putin rally at Clean Ponds , and were each given 15-day jail sentences. Amnesty International designated the two men prisoners of conscience . On 11 June, Moscow prosecutors conducted a 12-hour search of Navalny's home, office, and the apartment of one of his relatives. Soon afterwards, some of Navalny's personal emails were posted online by

7980-499: The decision in the Supreme Court of Russia , but the court ruled that the election results were legitimate. Following the mayoral election, Navalny was offered a position as the fourth co-chairman of RPR-PARNAS . On 14 November 2014, the two remaining RPR-PARNAS co-chairmen, Boris Nemtsov and former Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Kasyanov , declared it was the right moment to create a wide coalition of political forces, who favour

8113-435: The differences were because Sobyanin's electorate did not vote, as they felt that their candidate was guaranteed to win. Navalny's campaign office predicted Sobyanin would score 49–51%, and Navalny would get 24–26% of votes. Many experts said the election had been fair, that the number of irregularities had been much lower than those of other elections held within the country, and that the irregularities had had little effect on

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8246-502: The election. Navalny called for a boycott of the 2018 presidential election, stating his removal meant that millions of Russians were being denied their vote. Navalny filed an appeal against the Russian Supreme Court's ruling on 3 January, however a few days later on 6 January, the Supreme Court of Russia rejected his appeal. Navalny led protests on 28 January 2018 to urge a boycott of Russia's 2018 presidential election. Navalny

8379-443: The failure in the elections. He sharply criticized many actions by the party and asked for "immediate resignation of the party chairman and all his deputies, re-election of at least 70 percent of the bureau". He said: "Yabloko completely failed in these elections ... This is not a matter of counting [the votes]. The elections were dishonest and unfair. But we would get even less in fair elections. Because fair elections should not be just

8512-483: The flag. Several opposition activists (such as Maria Motuznaya ) had criticized the justification by AssezJeune (one of the creators of the flag) to remove the red stripe. On the afternoon of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Investigative Committee of Russia issued a warning to Russians that they would face legal repercussions for joining unsanctioned protests related to "the tense foreign political situation". The protests have been met with widespread repression by

8645-404: The fundraising campaign, and the personality of Navalny himself. The campaign received very little television coverage and did not utilise billboards. Thanks to Navalny's strong campaign (and Sobyanin's weak one), his result grew over time, weakening Sobyanin's, and in the end of the campaign, he declared the runoff election (to be conducted if none of the candidates receives at least 50% of votes)

8778-436: The government was accusing Navalny of assaulting an officer during the protests. Navalny was among 1600 people detained during 5 May protests prior to Putin's inauguration; Navalny was charged with disobeying police. On 15 May, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail. Immediately after his release on 25 September 2018, he was arrested and convicted for organising illegal demonstrations and sentenced to another 20 days in jail. During

8911-492: The hospital's motives. Supporters of Navalny and journalists near the hospital were attacked by the police and many were detained. In response, he initiated the Smart Voting project. Navalny campaigned against the vote on constitutional amendments that took place on 1 July, calling it a "coup" and a "violation of the constitution". He also said that the changes would allow President Putin to become " president for life ". After

9044-507: The law was stacked against Yabloko and Union of Right Forces , and he decided to join, even though he was not "a big fan" of either organisation. In 2001, he was listed as a member of the party. In 2002, he was elected to the regional council of the Moscow branch of Yabloko. In 2003, he headed the Moscow subdivision of the election campaign of the party for the parliamentary election held in December . In April 2004, Navalny became Chief of Staff of

9177-409: The main slogans of the majority of actions was "For Fair Elections!" and a white ribbon has been chosen as symbol of protests. Beginning from spring 2012 the actions were called marches of millions and took the form of a march followed by a rally. The speeches of participants were anti-Putin and anti-government. The "March of Millions" on 6 May 2012 at the approach to Bolotnaya Square was dispersed by

9310-468: The mines. In November 2023, Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel that Russians who left the country after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and are now returning "should understand that no one here is waiting for them with open arms" because they "committed treason against Russia". In response to the invasion of Ukraine, numerous armed pro-democratic , and anti-authoritarian partisan and insurgent groups have sprung up within Russia in open rebellion with

9443-475: The ministry said registrations completed after the six-month term would not be taken into consideration, adding, "Yes, trials are taking place in some regions ... they cannot register new branches in other regions during the trials, because the main term is over". Navalny's blog countered, "Our answer is simple. A six-month term for registration has been legally prolonged ad interim prosecution of appeals of denials and registration suspensions". On 1 February 2015,

9576-553: The narrative presented by state-controlled media in Russia . Putin's approval rating among young Russians was 32% in January 2019, according to the Levada Center . Another poll from the organization placed Putin's support among Russians aged 18–24 at 20% in December 2020. Current campaigns of the opposition include the dissemination of anti-Putin reports such as Putin. Results. 10 years (2010), Putin. Corruption (2011) and Life of

9709-434: The nationalist 2006 Russian march . However, he added that Yabloko condemned "any ethnic or racial hatred and any xenophobia" and called on the police to oppose "any fascist, Nazi, xenophobic manifestations". In December 2007, Yabloko lost legislative election to Russian State Duma by receiving only 1.6% votes . At a meeting of the party bureau, Navalny had proposed to reform the party and change its leadership because of

9842-486: The new Russian 2022 war censorship laws . According to Amnesty International , as of June 2023, up to 20,000 Russian citizens had been subject to heavy reprisals for opposing the war in Ukraine. In October 2023, Putin's close associate Vyacheslav Volodin , Speaker of the State Duma, said that Russians who "desire the victory of the murderous Nazi Kyiv regime" should be sent to the far-eastern region of Magadan , known for its Stalin-era Gulag camps, and forced to work in

9975-433: The number of such voters being 5% of those who voted, and added this did cause questions if Sobyanin would score 50% if this did not take place. Dmitry Oreshkin, leader of the "People's election commission" project (who did a separate counting based on the data from election observers; their result for Sobyanin was 50%), said now that the runoff election was only 2% away, all details would be looked at very closely, and added it

10108-401: The office by a registered party, and then to collect 110 signatures of municipal deputies from 110 different subdivisions (three-quarters of Moscow's 146). Navalny chose to be pegged by a party, RPR–PARNAS . Among the six candidates who were officially registered as such, only two (Sobyanin and Communist Ivan Melnikov) were able to collect the required number of the signatures themselves, and

10241-404: The opposition Alexei Navalny dismissed the legitimacy of the poll and denounced the changes, saying that they would make Putin "president for life". Journalist Yekaterina Duntsova tried to run in the 2024 election on a platform opposing the war in Ukraine , commenting: "Any sane person taking this step would be afraid - but fear must not win". However, she was quickly barred from running by

10374-511: The other four were given a number of signatures by the Council of Municipal Formations, following a recommendation by Sobyanin, to overcome the requirement (Navalny accepted 49 signatures, and other candidates accepted 70, 70, and 82). On 17 July, Navalny was registered as one of the six candidates for the Moscow mayoral election. On 18 July, he was sentenced to a five-year prison term for the embezzlement and fraud charges that were declared in 2012. Several hours after his sentencing, he pulled out of

10507-504: The outcome of these "elections". The current surge of mass opposition rallies has been called in some publications "a snow revolution". These rallies continued during the campaign for the election of the President of Russia and after 4 March 2012, presidential election, in which Putin officially won the first round. The protesters claimed that the elections were accompanied by violations of the election legislation and widespread fraud. One of

10640-467: The papers, Hungary sold a former embassy building in Moscow for US$ 21 million to an offshore company of Viktor Vekselberg , who immediately resold it to the Russian government for US$ 116 million. The property's real value was estimated at US$ 52 million. Irregularities in the paper trail implied collusion. Three Hungarian officials responsible for the deal were detained in February 2011. Navalny

10773-501: The parliamentary opposition parties in the State Duma and the various non-systemic opposition organizations. While the former are largely viewed as being more or less loyal to the government and Putin, the latter oppose the government and are mostly unrepresented in government bodies. According to Russian NGO Levada Center , about 15% of the Russian population disapproved of Putin in the beginning of 2023. The "systemic opposition"

10906-497: The party held a convention, where Navalny stated the party was preparing for the 2016 elections, declaring the party would maintain its activity across Russia, saying, "We are unabashed to work in remote lands where the opposition does not work. We can even [work] in Crimea". The candidates the party would appoint were to be chosen via primary elections; however, he added, the party's candidates may be removed from elections. On 17 April 2015,

11039-492: The party initiated a coalition of democratic parties. On 28 April 2015, the party was deprived of registration by the Ministry of Justice, which stated the party had not registered the required number of regional branches within six months after the official registration. Krainev claimed that the party could be eliminated only by the Supreme Court, and he added that not all trials of registration of regional branches were over, calling

11172-421: The party were present during the congress, even though the papers contained their signatures. Navalny reacted to that with a tweet saying, "A salvo of all guns." Following the mayoral election, on 15 September 2013, Navalny declared he would join and, possibly, head the party. On 17 November 2013 Navalny was elected as the leader of the party. On 8 January 2014, Navalny's party filed documents for registration for

11305-405: The party, and Navalny's ally Vladimir Ashurkov, explained this was intended to help the party get a large share of voters. Navalny said the concept of political parties was "outdated", and added his participation would make maintaining the party more difficult. However, he "blessed" the party and discussed its maintenance with its leaders. They, in turn, stated they wanted to eventually see Navalny as

11438-426: The planned retirement age hike. Such events occurred in nearly all major cities countrywide including Novosibirsk, St.-Petersburg and Moscow. These events were coordinated by all opposition parties with the leading role of the communists. Also trade unions and some individual politicians (among whom Navalny ) functioned as organizers of the public actions. An intention to hike the retirement age has drastically downed

11571-468: The police. In the Bolotnaya Square case 17 people are accused of committing violence against police (12 of them are in jail). A large number of human rights defenders and community leaders have declared the detainees innocent and the police responsible for the clashes. For the rally on 15 December 2012, the anniversary of the mass protests against rigged elections, the organizers failed to agree with

11704-470: The presidential election by all going to vote against him at the same time. Navalny then died in suspicious circumstances in his harsh imprisonment at a prison colony in the Arctic Circle, aged only 47, on 16 February 2024. After his death, Russians began bringing flowers to monuments to victims of political repression in cities across the country. People laid flowers at Moscow's Solovetsky Stone and

11837-405: The previous post-election demonstration. Speaking to the crowd, he said, "I see enough people to take the Kremlin right now". In March 2012, after Putin was elected president, Navalny helped lead an anti-Putin rally in Moscow's Pushkinskaya Square , attended by between 14,000 and 20,000 people. After the rally, Navalny was detained by authorities for several hours, and then released. On 8 May 2012,

11970-553: The profit from Usmanov's purchase of the British steel company Corus . Navalny posted scans of documents to his blog showing the money transfers. Usmanov and Shuvalov stated the documents Navalny had posted were legitimate, but that the transaction had not violated Russian law. "I unswervingly followed the rules and principles of conflict of interest," said Shuvalov. "For a lawyer, this is sacred". In July, Navalny posted documents on his blog allegedly showing that Alexander Bastrykin , head of

12103-442: The protest camp "Occupy Abay" and autumn they held weekly "Liberty walks" with the chains symbolizing solidarity with political prisoners. A monstration is a parody demonstration where participants gently poke fun at Kremlin policies. Some opposition figures, for example, chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov , said there are no elections in Putin's Russia, and that participation in a procedure called elections only legitimizes

12236-606: The protests, an investigation by Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation was published, accusing Putin of corruption. The video garnered 70 million views in a few days. Since jailing of Navalny a "hardening of the course" was observed from the government side, with a choice of "go West or East" being offered to prominent opposition figures, meaning a non-negotiable alternative of either going on emigration ("West") or to prison colonies ("East"). Among those who left Russia are politicians Lyubov Sobol , Dmitry Gudkov , Ivan Zhdanov (whose father had been however arrested in Russia as

12369-479: The race and called for a boycott of the election. Later that day, the prosecution office requested that Navalny be freed on bail and released from travel restrictions, since the verdict had not yet taken legal effect, saying that he had previously followed the restrictions. Navalny was a mayoral candidate, and imprisonment would thus not comply with the rule for equal access to the electorate. On his return to Moscow after being freed, pending an appeal, he vowed to stay in

12502-446: The race. The Washington Post has speculated that his release was ordered by the Kremlin in order to make the election and Sobyanin appear more legitimate. Navalny's campaign was successful in fundraising: out of 103.4 million rubles (approximately $ 3.09 million as of the election day), the total size of his electoral fund, 97.3 million ($ 2.91 million) were transferred by individuals throughout Russia; such an amount

12635-650: The rating of the President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Russia. So in July 2018, just 49% would vote for Putin if the presidential elections were held in that moment (while during the elections in March 2018, he got 76.7%). In the first half of 2019 there were approximately 863 protests across the country. From July 2019, protest rallies for an access to 2019 Moscow City Duma election of independent candidates started in Moscow. The 20 July rally

12768-505: The regime. On the other hand, a small part of liberals (the party of "Democratic Choice") consider elections as the main tool to achieve their political goals. The Dissenters' March was a series of Russian opposition protests started in 2006. It was preceded by opposition rallies in Russian cities in December 2005 which involved fewer people. Most of the Dissenters' March protests were unsanctioned by authorities. The Dissenters' March rally

12901-473: The result. Dmitri Abyzalov, leading expert of Center of Political Conjuncture, added low turnout figures provide a further sign of fairness of the election, because that shows they were not overestimated. However, according to Andrei Buzin, co-chairman of the GOLOS Association , State Departments of Social Security added people who did not originally want to vote to lists of those who would vote at home, with

13034-435: The results were announced, he called them a "big lie" that did not reflect public opinion. The reforms include an amendment allowing Putin to serve another two terms in office (until 2036), after his fourth presidential term ends. In 2008, Navalny sought to become an activist shareholder in five Russian oil and gas companies ( Rosneft , Gazprom , Gazprom Neft , Lukoil , and Surgutneftegas ), investing 300,000 rubles with

13167-487: The second time. On 20 January, registration of the party was suspended; according to Russian laws, no two parties can share a name. On 8 February 2014, Navalny's party changed its name to "Progress Party". On 25 February 2014, the party was registered, and at this point, had six months to register regional branches in at least half of the federal subjects of Russia . On 26 September 2014, the party declared it had registered 43 regional branches. An unnamed source of Izvestia in

13300-471: The signatures of voters supporting his candidacy. The election commission claimed that only 95,587 of his signatures in support of his candidacy were valid, just short of the 100,000 needed to run. His team said that some of the "errors" the election commission had claimed existed were merely minor typos that happened when handwritten names were put into its computers. Nadezhdin published evidence of this, showing Mayakovsky Street typed up as 'Myakovsky Street',

13433-452: The streets to chant his name and their opposition to Putin. 250,000 people also watched a livestream of his funeral provided by his team, despite apparent attempts by the authorities to interrupt internet coverage. The crowds who attended chanted "no to war", "Russia without Putin" and "Russia will be free", even though there was a noticeable police presence. The funeral ceremony was also attended by Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova ,

13566-528: The two opposition candidates who had been barred from running against Putin in the presidential election, with Nadezhdin stating: "We have come to say goodbye to a person who was a symbol of an era. There is still hope that everything will be all right and Russia will be free and peaceful as Alexei had dreamed". Kalininets Kalininets is along the Desna River which is a tributary of the Pakhra River . It

13699-419: The ultimate goal of increasing the transparency of their financial assets. Such transparency is required by law, but there are allegations that high-level managers of these companies are involved in theft and resisting transparency. In November 2010, Navalny published confidential documents about Transneft 's auditing. According to Navalny's blog, about US$ 4 billion were stolen by Transneft's leaders during

13832-640: The unregistered party Russia of the Future and Libertarian Party of Russia (LPR). Other notable opposition groups included the Russian Opposition Coordination Council (KSO) (2012–2013) and The Other Russia (2006–2011), as well as various non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Their supporters vary in political ideology, ranging from liberals , socialists , and anarchists , to Russian nationalists . They are mainly unified by their opposition to Putin and government corruption . However,

13965-530: The verdict "illegal twice". He added that the party would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights , and expressed confidence that the party would be restored and admitted to elections. The next day, the party officially challenged the verdict. On 30 May 2013, Sergey Sobyanin , the mayor of Moscow, argued an elected mayor is an advantage for the city compared to an appointed one, and on 4 June, he announced he would meet President Vladimir Putin and ask him for

14098-426: The voting showed Navalny received 27% of the vote, more than candidates appointed by the parties that received second, third, fourth, and fifth highest results during the 2011 parliamentary elections, altogether. Navalny fared better in the center and southwest of Moscow, which have higher income and education levels. Sobyanin received 51% of the vote, winning the election. The turnout was 32%. The organisations explained

14231-461: The war in Ukraine. More than 2,000 people were detained or fined by May 2022 under the laws prohibiting "fake" information about the military. In July 2022, Alexei Gorinov , a member of the Krasnoselsky district council in Moscow, was sentenced to seven years in prison after making anti-war comments at a council meeting in March. Lawyer Pavel Chikov said that this was the first jail term under

14364-435: The war. Some Russians who signed petitions against Russia's war in Ukraine lost their jobs. On 17 March, Putin gave a speech in which he called opponents of the war "scum and traitors," saying that a "natural and necessary self-cleansing of society will only strengthen our country." Russian authorities were encouraging Russians to report their friends, colleagues and family members to the police for expressing opposition to

14497-462: The work, and on 17 April, Navalny declared a wide discussion had taken place among Progress Party, RPR-PARNAS, and other closely aligned parties, which resulted in an agreement of formation of a new electoral bloc between the two leaders. Soon thereafter, it was signed by four other parties and supported by Khodorkovsky's Open Russia foundation. Electoral blocs are not present within the current law system of Russia, so it would be realised via means of

14630-533: The worse the results, the stronger the leadership's position." He was expelled from Yabloko at the same meeting for his nationalist views and for participating in the Russian March. According to Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin , Navalny was expelled from Yabloko because he challenged party leader Grigory Yavlinsky . In December 2011, after parliamentary elections and accusations of electoral fraud, approximately 6,000 people gathered in Moscow to protest

14763-408: Was "a hair's breadth away". The largest sociological research organisations predicted that Sobyanin would win the election, scoring 58% to 64% of the vote; they expected Navalny to receive 15–20% of the vote, and the turnout was to be 45–52%. ( Levada Center was the only one not to have made any predictions; the data it had on 28 August was similar to that of other organisations.) The final results of

14896-521: Was arrested 15 years after the alleged crimes he is accused of. Every day since 11 June, mass protests have been held in the Khabarovsk Krai in support of Furgal. On 25 July, tens of thousands of people were estimated to have taken part in the third major rally in Khabarovsk. The protests included chants of "Away with Putin!", "This is our region", "Furgal was our choice" or "shame on LDPR" and "Shame on

15029-617: Was arrested in Moscow for participating in protests and was sentenced to 30 days in jail for organising illegal protests. In September 2017, Human Rights Watch accused Russian police of systematic interference with Navalny's presidential campaign. "The pattern of harassment and intimidation against Navalny's campaign is undeniable," said Hugh Williamson, Europe, and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Russian authorities should let Navalny's campaigners work without undue interference and properly investigate attacks against them by ultra-nationalists and pro-government groups." On 21 September,

15162-436: Was arrested on the day of the protest and then released the same day, pending trial. OVD-Info reported that 257 people were arrested throughout the country. According to Russian news reports, police stated Navalny was likely to be charged with calling for unauthorised demonstrations. Two of Navalny's associates were given brief jail terms for urging people to attend unsanctioned opposition rallies. Navalny stated on 5 February 2018

15295-633: Was awarded the Sakharov Prize for his work on human rights. Through his social media accounts, Navalny and his team published material about corruption in Russia, organised political demonstrations and promoted his campaigns. In a 2011 interview, he described Russia's ruling party— United Russia —as a " party of crooks and thieves ", which became a popular byname. Navalny and the FBK have published investigations detailing alleged corruption by high-ranking Russian officials and their associates. Navalny twice received

15428-1051: Was born on 4 June 1976 in Butyn , Russia , then part of the Soviet Union. His mother, Lyudmila Ivanovna Navalnaya (born 1954), an ethnic Russian, is originally from Zelenograd , and his father, Anatoly Ivanovich Navalny (born 1947), an ethnic Ukrainian, is originally from Zalissia, a village near the Ukraine-Belarus border which was relocated due to nuclear contamination caused by the Chernobyl disaster . Navalny identified as half Russian and half Ukrainian and grew up in Obninsk —about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southwest of Moscow—but spent his summers with his grandparents in Zalissia until age eight, acquiring proficiency in Ukrainian. Navalny's parents privately own

15561-403: Was directed against pro-democracy and anti-war Russians, while criticism of the Putin regime by pro-war activists and ultranationalists was largely ignored. Levada Center polls from 2022 indicated that there were at least 30 million pro-European Russians who opposed the war in Ukraine, but very few of them were able to leave Russia . Literary critic Galina Yuzefovich said that leaving Russia

15694-447: Was disputed by Anastasia Vasilyeva , an ophthalmologist who previously treated Navalny after a chemical attack by an alleged protester in 2017. Vasilyeva questioned the diagnosis and suggested the possibility that Navalny's condition was the result of "the damaging effects of undetermined chemicals". On 29 July 2019, Navalny was discharged from hospital and taken back to prison, despite the objections of his personal physician who questioned

15827-425: Was elected as the only leader of RPR-PARNAS, and the party was renamed to just PARNAS. He added he would like to eventually re-establish the institution of co-chairmanship, adding, "Neither Alexei Navalny nor Mikhail Khodorkovsky will enter our party today and be elected as co-chairmen. But in the future, I think, such time will come". On 7 July, in an interview released by TV Rain , he specified Navalny could not leave

15960-481: Was founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). In February 2012, Navalny concluded that Russian federal money going to Ramzan Kadyrov 's Chechen Interior Ministry was being spent "in a totally shadowy and fraudulent way." In May, Navalny accused Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov of corruption, stating that companies owned by Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov had transferred tens of millions of dollars to Shuvalov's company, allowing Shuvalov to share in

16093-460: Was impossible to prove "anything" juridically. On 9 September, the day following the election, Navalny publicly denounced the tally, saying, "We do not recognise the results. They are fake". Sobyanin's office rejected an offer of a vote recount. On 12 September, Navalny addressed the Moscow City Court to overturn the result of the poll; the court rejected the assertion. Navalny then challenged

16226-464: Was imprisoned for staging protests in January 2018. Subsequently, Viktor Zolotov published a video message on 11 September challenging Navalny to a duel and promising to make "good, juicy mincemeat" of him. Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia Opposition to the government of President Vladimir Putin in Russia , commonly referred to as the Russian opposition , can be divided between

16359-411: Was in fact more than the 100,000 required to run. The press contacted the man whose address had been incorrectly entered as 'Rostov-on-Dom', and he confirmed he had indeed added his signature in support of Nadezhdin's candidacy, saying "this constitutes election obstruction". As well as endorsing Nadezhdin, Alexei Navalny and his allies had called on supporters to protest Putin during the third day of

16492-455: Was kept in the same prison as several other activists, including Ilya Yashin and Sergei Udaltsov , the unofficial leader of the Vanguard of Red Youth , a radical Russian communist youth group. Udaltsov went on a hunger strike to protest against the conditions. Upon his release on 20 December 2011, Navalny called on Russians to unite against Putin, who Navalny said would try to claim victory in

16625-516: Was one of the organisers of the movement-run political debates, which soon resonated in the media. Navalny also organised television debates via state-run Moscow channel TV Center ; two initial episodes showed high ratings, but the show was suddenly canceled. According to Navalny, the authorities prohibited the appearance of certain people on television. In late 2006, Navalny appealed to the Moscow City Hall, asking it to grant permission to conduct

16758-437: Was organized by The Other Russia , a broad umbrella group that includes opposition leaders, including National Bolshevik Party with its leader Eduard Limonov , far-left Vanguard of Red Youth as well as liberals such as former world chess champion and United Civil Front leader Garry Kasparov . Strategy-31 was a series of civic protests in support of the right to peaceful assembly in Russia guaranteed by Article 31 of

16891-401: Was replaced with a prison sentence of over 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 years' detention, and his organisations were later designated as extremist and liquidated. In March 2022, Navalny was sentenced to an additional nine years in prison after being found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court in a new trial described as a sham by Amnesty International. Following the rejection of his appeal, Navalny

17024-554: Was so unexpectedly high that extra sign-up centres had to be added in Moscow. In what was described as something "seemingly unachievable in Russian politics", Nadezhdin managed to unify many prominent opposition politicians and public figures behind his campaign and gained their endorsements: Yekaterina Duntsova (who had previously been barred ), Mikhail Khodorkovsky , Ekaterina Schulmann , Yulia Navalnaya (wife of Alexei Navalny ), Ilya Varlamov , Lyubov Sobol and many others. Russia's main opposition leader Navalny also passed

17157-481: Was the largest since 2012. The 27 July rally set a record in number of detainees and police violence. The 10 August rally outnumbered the 27 July rally, oppositional sources report 50–60 thousand participants. On 9 July 2020, the popular governor of the Khabarovsk Krai , Sergei Furgal , who defeated the candidate of Putin's United Russia party in elections two years ago, was arrested and flown to Moscow. Furgal

17290-573: Was the most viable contender to Vladimir Putin in the 2018 election. Navalny organised a series of anti-corruption rallies in different cities across Russia in March. This appeal was responded to by the representatives of 95 Russian cities, and four cities abroad: London, Prague, Basel and Bonn. Navalny was attacked by unknown assailants outside his office in the Anti-Corruption Foundation on 27 April 2017. They sprayed brilliant green dye , possibly mixed with other components, into his face in

17423-529: Was then reportedly threatened to agree to a 'secret' burial of Navalny, or else he would be buried at the prison, being given only three hours to agree to the ultimatum. She refused to negotiate and demanded authorities complied with the law obliging investigators to hand over the body within two days of determining the causes of death. Navalny's wife was then forced to sign a death certificate claiming he had died of natural causes, with authorities claiming he had collapsed and died of "sudden death syndrome". Such

17556-743: Was transferred to a high-security prison in June. In August 2023, he received another sentence of 19 years on extremism charges. In December 2023, Navalny went missing from prison for almost three weeks. He re-emerged in an Arctic Circle corrective colony in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug . In 2024, the Russian prison service reported that Navalny had died , which subsequently sparked protests in both Russia and various other countries. Accusations against Putin's government in connection with his death have been made by many Western governments and international organisations. Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny

17689-565: Was widely expected that he would attempt to stay in power through certain means such as changing the constitution, even though Putin claimed otherwise in 2018. As predicted, Putin announced that constitutional changes would be proposed allowing him to stay in power until 2036 by "resetting" his terms, widely criticised by opponents, and these changes were then 'approved' in a disputed referendum in which independent election monitors received hundreds of reports of violations and state employees were deliberately prompted to vote in favour. Leader of

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