As of: February 18, 2024, 4:52 a.m
By: Richard Strobl
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Press
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According to Russian authorities, Alexei Navalny is dead. There are allegations against Vladimir Putin's apparatus.
His dealings in the past show his fear of the critic.
Moscow – The news of Alexei Navalny’s death is causing international consternation and sadness.
So far, the report from the Russian authorities has not yet been confirmed by Navalny.
Nevertheless, leading international politicians and experts blame Vladimir Putin and his repressive system in Russia for the possible death of the internal enemy.
“You don’t have to be a criminologist to have a strong suspicion of a crime,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told
ZDF
.
US President Joe Biden became even clearer: “Putin is responsible,” he said on Friday in the White House.
Mourning for Navalny: Putin's treatment revealed his fear of the critic
In many cities in Russia and around the world, supporters are mourning the dead Kremlin critic, who was probably the best-known opposition figure in Russia.
And a figure that Vladimir Putin definitely feared.
Even if the Kremlin never tired of claiming that Navalny did not pose a real political threat.
Vladimir Putin did not publicly mention Alexei Navalny's name.
(Collage of symbolic images) © Collage: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire // SNA
The fear of Navalny is, of course, most evident through his imprisonment and placement in a remote gulag.
But Putin's personal treatment of Navalny in public also shows how much respect Putin had.
The Russian president vehemently avoided saying Navalny's name.
Instead, according to the Moscow Times,
Putin called his opponent
“that gentleman,” “that character,” “a certain political force,” or became outright derogatory, calling him “a poor excuse for a politician.”
Even after the assassination attempt on Navalny in 2020, Putin always spoke of “this patient in a Berlin clinic”.
Authorities say Navalny is dead: expert shows what that says about Putin
Now Navalny is apparently dead and the question arises as to whether Putin's system was really directly involved in an assassination or whether Navalny died as a result of his imprisonment.
US analyst David Sanger told
CNN
that Navalny's alleged death is in line with mysterious deaths in Russia.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, leading figures from the military, politics and business have died unexpectedly again and again.
Sanger also mentions the plane crash of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and puts Navalny's death in this series.
“Putin is running in the elections after crushing all those who publicly denounced the incompetence and evil character of the leadership in Russia,” is how the expert assesses the current situation.
(Richard Strobl)