Navalny's death a 'dark day for Russia's democratic movement,' says exiled activist
Tanya Lokshina holds the Kremlin responsible for the Russian opposition leader's death behind bars
The public may never know the details of Alexei Navalny's death, says exiled Russian activist Tanya Lokshina. But no matter what happened, she holds the Kremlin responsible.
Navalny, the outspoken Russian opposition leader, has died in prison at the age of 47, according to Russian correctional authorities.
In a statement published on its website, the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District said that Navalny "felt unwell" after a walk on Friday and "almost immediately lost consciousness."
Navalny was a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and organized major anti-government protests in the country. He was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, which he and his allies say were politically motivated.
Lokshina, a Russian journalist living in exile, and the director of the Russia program at Human Rights Watch, spoke to As It Happens host Nil Köksal. Here is part of their conversation.
Aleksei Navalny's wife Yulia has been speaking from Munich already today. She says she doesn't believe this news, so far. [Navalny's] chief of staff says he can't believe it. He doesn't trust the Russian state. Do you believe that Alexei Navalny is dead?
Unfortunately, it's been officially confirmed by Russian penitentiary authorities and by President Putin's news secretary. So I rather believe that this is true. Most unfortunately, yes.
What was it like for you to learn what had happened?
It was shocking. But, most unfortunately, given the circumstances, it is not surprising.
He was detained arbitrarily and then imprisoned on politically motivated charges. We do not know the exact circumstances of his death. Frankly, no one does. And I also seriously doubt that we would be able to find out for certain.
But no matter how it happened, the Kremlin is responsible for it. The Kremlin wanted to eliminate Navalny as Putin's one viable political opponent. Navalny suffered a poisoning with a banned chemical agent a while ago. He was treated in Berlin, and as soon as he returned to Russia, he was jailed.
As someone who is in exile now, what did you make of his decision to go back knowing — you know, he went with his eyes wide open — about the dangers?
Mr. Navalny is a politician. And, as a politician, he could not imagine himself being in exile, being in a foreign country. Because, as a politician, you can only make a difference while you're there, inside.
That was his choice. It was a very brave choice, indeed.
He was arrested as soon as he appeared on Russia's border. From then on, it was one politically motivated show after the other. And the conditions of confinement for Mr. Navalny were increasingly appalling.
Eventually, he was sent to the far north of the country, which made it particularly difficult for his lawyers, his family and his supporters to maintain contact with him.
You met Mr. Navalny several times. What were those moments like? What do you remember?
I was a rookie at the Moscow Helsinki Group, which is a leading human rights organization in the country, now shut down by the Russian government, as [are] many other human rights organizations. And he was a member of the youth section of the Yabloko Party. And that was ... many years ago.
He was charismatic. He was pushy. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to change the country.
Throughout his entire political career, no matter which political force he was involved with, or how he presented himself, that was his deep ambition. He wanted the country to be changed. And he wanted the country to become a democracy.
It is not surprising that the government went after him because he's been, indeed, Mr. Putin's key opponent: someone who was, among other things, able to capture the minds of Russian youths. Someone who made politics interesting for the youth. And that's why the Kremlin was particularly bothered about him. And that's why the Kremlin went after him, and wanted to make sure that he is eliminated one way or the other.
What will happen to that opposition movement now? And the young people, all of the people that you say Mr. Navalny was able to inspire?
These are very dire times for Russia. Many political activists and civic activists are now in exile.
At the same time, there are people, including human rights defenders, my friends and colleagues who are still inside the country, and who are still fighting. And one of them is Oleg Orlov, co-chair of Memorial, the country's leading human rights organization.
He is now facing a three-year prison term. But, you know, based on the case of Mr. Navalny, three years doesn't mean anything. Three years can turn into 10 years and 15 years and 19 years. And then, given detention conditions and ill-treatment, God knows what is going to happen.
I'm really, really worried about my friends and colleagues who remain on the ground. And all I can say, this [is] a very dark day for Russia's democratic movement, and for the country as a whole.
You are not in Russia, as we've said, but what can you tell us about what you're hearing about the reaction there to this news?
People are devastated. They truly are.
I'm, of course, talking about the people who want Russia to be a democracy — only about political activists and human rights defenders, but [also] about your ordinary people who are appalled by the war in Ukraine, who are appalled by the raging repression wielded by the Kremlin. It's devastation.
At the same time, Navalny said often enough, "I do not fear, and you should not." And there are lots of people in Russia who do not fear, no matter what.
You have a son. Eleven years old, I believe. What are you telling him about why you are not in Russia, and this news today?
He knows full well that the reason we had to leave the country is because all reporting that I do — and the reporting on Russia's abuses in Ukraine and Russia's war crimes in Ukraine, in particular — make me criminally liable by Russia's draconian war censorship legislation. It could land me in jail for many, many years. So he is well aware of the fact that we left the country, which used to be his home, because of this particular situation. [And we are not likely to vacate anytime soon.
I think he is growing up too quickly. These are not the issues he's supposed to be thinking of, to be perfectly honest. But he's steeped in them and they are just part of his life.
Do you imagine a time when you can both return to Russia, and it will be the place that you and many others, including Alexei Navalny, wanted it to be?
Hopefully at some point, yes, but not in the near future.
With files from Reuters. Interview produced by Katie Geleff. Q&A edited for length and clarity
