Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is dead, the administration of the penal colony where the opposition figure was held announced. Navalny was 47 years old.
The first reactions to Navalny’s death are unanimous: the Russian government is to blame: “Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy,” writes EU Council President Charles Michel on X (formerly Twitter). “He made the ultimate sacrifice for his ideals. The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz calls Navalny’s death depressing. The fact that Navalny went back to Russia was very brave. Now he has “paid for this courage with his life,” says Scholz. We now know exactly what kind of regime is in power in Moscow. Russia is “no longer a democracy.”
In his own words, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is “deeply affected and disturbed” by the reports of the death of the Russian government opponent. “We have to clarify all the facts,” says Stoltenberg. Russia must clarify all questions about the circumstances of the death.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reacts with shock: “This is terrible news,” says Sunak. As the fiercest defender of Russian democracy, Navalny has shown incredible courage throughout his life.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also directed sharp words against Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin must “pay for his crimes,” he demanded during a visit to Berlin in the presence of Olaf Scholz.
Norway also made serious allegations against the Kremlin. The Russian government bears a “strong responsibility” for Navalny’s death, wrote Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on X.
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel told “Bild”: “The news of Alexei Navalny’s death fills me with great dismay. He was a victim of Russia’s repressive state power. It is terrible that with him there is a courageous, fearless voice that stands up for his country with terrible voices “My thoughts are with his wife, his children, his friends and his employees.”
According to Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, the government in Moscow has the opposition leader on its conscience. “Whatever you think about Alexei Navalny as a politician, he was simply brutally murdered by the Kremlin,” he writes on X. “This is a fact and something worth knowing about the true nature of the current Russian regime.” His condolences go out to Navalny’s family and friends.
Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitri Muratov describes Navalny’s death as a “murder.” The journalist told the Reuters news agency that he believed that the prison conditions led to Navalny’s death.
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Sejourne regrets the death of the Kremlin critic. “His resistance to a system of oppression cost him his life,” explains Sejourne. “His death in a penal colony reminds us of the reality of Vladimir Putin’s regime.”
