MOSCOW, Feb 17 – Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny – a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin – has died, according to the country’s prison service.
The jailed dissident, who had campaigned against official corruption and led major anti-Kremlin protests, was 47, reported SkyNews.
Mr Putin, who is running for re-election in a month, has been informed of his death, according to the state news agency TASS.
While the cause of death remains unknown, Western leaders have made clear they hold the Russian regime ultimately responsible.
The prison authorities said Mr Navalny felt unwell following a walk on Friday and lost consciousness at the “Polar Wolf” penal colony about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) northeast of Moscow, and within the Arctic Circle.
Efforts by medical staff to revive him failed, according to the service.
Mr Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, was moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia.
His allies criticised the transfer to the maximum security facility in the town of Kharp as yet another attempt to silence Mr Navalny.
The remote region is notorious for long and severe winters.
Mr Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning, which he blamed on the Kremlin.
