Alexei Navalny's death received minimal coverage from Russian state media, as opposed to the storm of news and commentary that swept social media.
The public television stations gave little news, and with great delay, without delving into the figure of the opponent and the reasons why he was in prison.
In one case, a liberal politician, the president of the Yabloko party, Nikolai Rybakov, tried to make inroads during an interview with NTV television.
"I cannot but express my condolences for the death of Alexei Navalny, and I hope that this will lead to the release of all political prisoners," Rybakov said, before being interrupted by the host who asked him what this had to do with the topic that in that moment was being debated.
One of the leading exponents of the state media, the editor of Russia Today Margarita Simonyan, responded sarcastically to the accusations made by Western countries in Moscow, stating regarding Navalny that "everyone had forgotten him for a long time" and that "there was no reason to kill him, especially before the elections."
If anything, she added, his death will "benefit the opposition forces".
On social media in Russia, however, Navalny's passing was the leading topic, especially on the
Among the comments, the supportive yet prudent one from Boris Nadezhdin stands out, the politician openly opposed to the conflict in Ukraine who is still involved in an appeal against the rejection of his presidential candidacy next month: "Alexei is one of the most talented and courageous people I have ever seen. known in Russia," he wrote, without making any reference to the possible causes of death.
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