Alexei Navalny

Alexey Navalny was born on June 4, 1976, in Butyn, Soviet Union. He was a prominent Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist.

A court in the city of Kirov finds Alexei Navalny and Ofitserov guilty of embezzlement, resulting in Navalny being sentenced to five years in prison and Ofitserov to four years. They are detained overnight but released on July 19 pending an appeal, leading to public protests.

Boris Nemtsov, who was working on a project of a coalition in which Navalny and Khodorkovsky would become co-chairmen of RPR-PARNAS, was shot dead.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Alexei Navalny and Ofitserov were denied a fair trial in their 2013 conviction. They were awarded 8,000 Euros for damages and additional compensation for costs and expenses.

Navalny was attacked by unknown assailants outside his office in the Anti-Corruption Foundation. They sprayed brilliant green dye, possibly mixed with other components, into his face in a Zelyonka attack that can damage eyes of the victim.

On August 20, 2020, Alexei Navalny was poisoned, which led to a series of events including his imprisonment and eventual death.

Traffic cam footage obtained by Mediazona news website showed a four-vehicle convoy, including Federal Penitentiary Service vehicles, driving along the only land crossing between Labytnangi and Salekhard at 9:54 p.m. MSK. This timing led Mediazona to believe that Navalny’s body was being transported to Salekhard in this convoy.

On August 24, 2020, German authorities confirm that Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent, an accusation that he attributes to the Kremlin, which is denied by Russian officials.

The German government reports that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group, which was previously used in a 2018 attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

A joint investigation implicated agents from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in Navalny's poisoning, detailing a special unit of the FSB specializing in chemical substances and tracking members of the unit.

During his annual press conference, Putin claimed that Russian special services were not involved in the poisoning of Navalny and suggested it was a ploy to undermine Russian leadership. He also mentioned that Navalny was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment in Germany at his wife's request.

Navalny released a video revealing that the poison had been placed on his clothing, particularly in his underwear, and that he would have died if not for the plane's emergency landing and quick response from an ambulance crew.

Russia’s prison service gives Navalny a last-minute ultimatum, telling him to fly back from Germany at once and report to a Moscow office the next morning. The prison service warns Navalny he will be jailed if he returns after the deadline.

Russia’s main investigative body launches a criminal case against Navalny on charges of fraud related to his alleged mishandling of $5 million in donations to FBK and other organizations.

On January 13, 2021, Alexei Navalny announced on social media that he would return to Russia from Germany on January 17.

On January 17, 2021, Navalny is arrested upon his return to Russia, leading to significant protests and the arrest of thousands of individuals.

A Russian judge remands Navalny in pre-trial detention for 30 days for violating the terms of his suspended jail sentence at a hastily arranged court hearing in a police station on the outskirts of Moscow. Navalny urges Russians to take to the streets in protest against the decision.

On 19 January 2021, Alexei Navalny and the FBK published an investigation accusing President Vladimir Putin of using fraudulently obtained funds to build a massive estate for himself. The investigation detailed an elaborate corruption scheme allegedly involving Putin's inner circle and garnered significant attention and views on YouTube.

Navalny's arrest and an investigation accusing President Vladimir Putin of corruption led to mass protests across Russia beginning on 23 January 2021.

A Moscow court orders Navalny to serve two and a half years in prison for his parole violation. While in prison, Navalny stages a three-week hunger strike to protest against a lack of medical treatment and sleep.

Russian prison authorities declared Alexei Navalny dead on this day, but his team was only able to confirm it a day later. The circumstances of his death in a remote Arctic prison remain unclear, as Russian authorities have not disclosed the official cause of death or granted his family access to the body.

A group of employees from the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Federal Penitentiary Service’s FSB-linked Directorate L arrived at the IK-3 penal colony where Navalny was serving his prison term. They reconfigured the facility’s covert surveillance equipment and video surveillance systems, leading to suspicions that 'bugs' and hidden cameras, which could have recorded what happened to Alexei Navalny on Feb. 15-16, were turned off and dismantled.

On 16 February 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Russian government should release Alexei Navalny immediately due to the risk to his life. However, Russian officials indicated that they would not comply with the decision.

On February 20, 2021, Alexei Navalny's appeal was partially rejected, resulting in a reduction of his sentence by a month and a half due to time spent under house arrest from December 2014 to February 2015.

Amnesty International revoked Navalny's 'prisoner of conscience' status after receiving complaints about his past xenophobic comments.

A Moscow court outlaws Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and about 40 regional offices, describing them as “extremist” and effectively shutting down his political network. Close associates and team members face prosecution and leave Russia under pressure.

State-run news agencies reported Alexei Navalny's death. Kremlin-funded broadcaster RT, citing an anonymous source, reported that Navalny died of a blood clot. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed President Vladimir Putin was informed of Navalny’s death.

On February 24, 2022, Russia invades Ukraine, and Navalny publicly denounces the war from prison, expressing his opposition during court appearances.

On March 22, 2022, Navalny receives a nine-year prison sentence for embezzlement and contempt of court, a verdict rejected by his supporters as fabricated, leading to his transfer to a maximum-security prison.

Navalny's team announces the relaunch of his anticorruption foundation as an international organisation with an advisory board. Navalny continues to file lawsuits from prison and tries to form a labour union in the facility. In response, penitentiary officials start regularly placing him in solitary confinement over purported disciplinary violations.

Alexei Navalny, Russia’s top opposition leader and President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, died in prison on Friday, a statement from the Federal Penitentiary Service said. Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, felt unwell after a walk and collapsed, it said. The politician’s team had no immediate confirmation of his death.

'Navalny,' a film about the attempt on the opposition leader’s life, wins the Oscar for best documentary feature.

Navalny grapples with severe stomach pain in jail that his spokesperson Kira Yarmysh says could be because of a slow acting poison. The prison food, she adds, is making his stomachache worse. But authorities, she says, aren’t allowing him to buy or eat other food.

Alexei Navalny reveals on Twitter that he has been charged with 'terrorist attacks' and the case will be tried in a military court.

In closing arguments, the prosecution asks the court to sentence Navalny to 20 years in prison. Navalny expects a 'huge' sentence, referring to it as a 'Stalinist term.'

Navalny is convicted and receives a 19-year prison sentence.

On October 13, 2023, authorities detained three lawyers representing Navalny after searching their homes. Navalny's ally Ivan Zhdanov stated on social media that the move was an attempt to completely isolate Navalny. The raids were part of a criminal case on charges of participating in an extremist group.

On December 7, 2023, Alexei Navalny's team puts up billboards across Russia with QR codes leading to a hidden website, encouraging Russians to participate in a campaign against Putin's expected reelection in March 2024. The campaign aims to make the vote a referendum on Putin's war in Ukraine rather than a genuine presidential contest.

Lawyers for Navalny reported losing contact with the Russian opposition leader while he was jailed, and his whereabouts became unknown. This raised concerns about his safety and well-being.

Navalny's allies report that his lawyer mentioned in court that he has been transferred from the penal colony near Moscow, but they are unaware of his new location. The Kremlin denies having any information about his whereabouts.

The Federal Penitentiary Service announced that Navalny had died at the prison in Yamalo-Nenets in Western Siberia after taking a walk and feeling unwell that morning. His spokeswoman confirmed his death the following day, and demanded his body to be returned to his family.