VIENNA — Two large portraits of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been spray-painted on a property owned by the family of a former Czech foreign minister behind a monument to Soviet soldiers in Vienna. The portraits were completed Wednesday on the wall behind the monument, which was already painted in Ukraine’s blue … Read more
BRUSSELS — The European Union on Friday imposed sanctions on the Russian justice and prison officials responsible for imprisoning opposition leader Alexei Navalny before his death last month. “Alexei Navalny’s slow killing by the Kremlin regime is a stark reminder of its utter disregard for human life,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in … Read more
TALLINN, Estonia — Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to secure his fifth term in power this month on the heels of opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death in prison, which devastated Kremlin critics and spurred concerns about the safety of other imprisoned dissidents. Putin has gone from tolerating dissent to suppressing anyone who dared challenge … Read more
MOSCOW — In the weeks since Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died suddenly in an Arctic prison, the simple act of laying flowers — at his graveside or makeshift memorials — has become an act of political defiance. Wartime Russia brooks no dissent. When he was alive, Navalny, an anti-corruption and pro-democracy activist, had urged … Read more
MOSCOW — Thousands of Russians who risked arrest Friday to attend the Moscow funeral of opposition leader Alexei Navalny were thwarted by a huge force of riot police, deployed to ensure that President Vladimir Putin’s charismatic rival was buried with as little fanfare as possible. But the throngs of supporters who braved the security presence … Read more
Under a heavy police presence, thousands of people bade farewell Friday to Alexei Navalny at his funeral in Moscow after his still-unexplained death two weeks ago in an Arctic penal colony. The service followed a battle with authorities over the release of the body of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic. His supporters said several churches … Read more
MOSCOW — Hundreds of people gathered behind metal police barriers blocking the entrance to the church where opposition leader Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most formidable critic, is due to be celebrated in Moscow ahead of his burial. With busloads of riot police and security trucks at the site, rights groups warned mourners of possible … Read more
MOSCOW — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died suddenly in an Arctic prison colony two weeks ago, will be buried Friday in Moscow, his spokeswoman said, after days of reported pressure and blackmail by Russian authorities. Kira Yarmysh said on social media that a funeral will take place at the Church of the Icon … Read more
The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother, a top aide to Navalny said Saturday on his social media account. Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, made the announcement on his Telegram account and thanked “everyone” who had called on Russian authorities to return Navalny’s body … Read more
Russian authorities on Saturday handed the body of opposition leader Alexei Navalny to his mother after she struggled for a week to recover it, according to his team. Dozens of Russian celebrities had recorded video appeals to President Vladimir Putin to hand over Navalny’s body to his family and more than 98,000 Russians signed a … Read more