According to his team, Alexei Navalny’s mother was informed on Saturday that Russia’s prominent opposition leader had succumbed to “sudden death syndrome,” and authorities stated that his body would not be released to the family until an investigation was concluded.
Navalny, a former lawyer aged 47, collapsed and died on Friday following a walk at the “Polar Wolf” penal colony in Kharp, approximately 1,900 km (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, where he was serving a three-decade sentence, as per the prison service.
Western leaders, led by US President Joe Biden, hailed Navalny’s bravery and, without providing evidence, implicated President Vladimir Putin in his death. Britain warned of repercussions for Russia.
The Kremlin condemned the West’s response as unacceptable and “completely frantic.” Putin has not yet commented on Navalny’s demise.
Braving Arctic temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit), Navalny’s 69-year-old mother, Lyudmila, visited the penal colony where her son passed away on Saturday.
Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, informed Reuters that she was provided with an official death notification citing the time of death as 2:17 p.m. local time (0917 GMT) on Feb. 16.
Ivan Zhdanov, who leads Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, disclosed on the social media platform X that Navalny’s lawyer and mother were told upon arrival at the colony that the cause of Navalny’s death was “sudden death syndrome,” a term encompassing various cardiac syndromes leading to sudden cardiac arrest and death.
The whereabouts of Navalny’s body remained uncertain, his team reported. While his mother was informed that the body had been transported to Salekhard, the nearby town, the morgue was found closed upon her arrival.
Upon contacting the morgue, Navalny’s lawyer was informed that his body was not present, Yarmysh stated. Subsequently, officials stated that the body would not be released until the investigation was concluded, contradicting earlier claims that no evidence of criminality was found.
“We currently lack access to the body and are uncertain of its location. We demand that Russian authorities promptly release Alexei’s body to his family,” Yarmysh asserted in an interview.
An employee at Salekhard’s sole morgue informed Reuters that Navalny’s body had not yet arrived.
Navalny’s demise deprives the disparate Russian opposition of its most charismatic and fearless leader as Putin braces for an election that could extend his tenure until at least 2030.
Navalny’s supporters, both domestically and internationally, likened him to South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, envisioning him as a future leader who would guide the country towards positive change.
However, some Russians dismissed this view as wishful thinking, pointing to opinion polls indicating disapproval of Navalny and greater popularity for Putin.
Russian authorities considered Navalny and his supporters as extremists with ties to the CIA, which they alleged sought to destabilize Russia. Navalny consistently denied accusations of being a CIA asset.
Despite despair and apathy prevailing among some Russians, others paid tribute to Navalny by laying flowers in Moscow and other cities. However, overnight, authorities removed hundreds of flowers and candles placed in his honor.
At central Moscow’s monument to the victims of Soviet repression, several dozen roses and carnations remained, while at the “Wall of Sorrow” memorial, some laid flowers beside images of Navalny, with one message reading: “We will not forget, nor shall we forgive.”
The OVD-Info protest-monitoring group reported over 270 arrests across Russia at gatherings and memorials for Navalny since his death was announced. Critics of Putin asserted that Navalny’s demise underscored the dangers of contemporary Russia, more than three decades after the fall of the Soviet Union. Navalny’s spokesperson, Yarmysh, insisted that although Navalny may have perished, his vision would endure.
