Alexei Navalny

On August 1, 2012, Russian authorities charged Alexei Navalny with embezzlement. He was accused of defrauding a state-owned timber company, Kirovles, to the tune of 16 million rubles. Navalny denied the charges, calling them politically motivated and an attempt to hinder his burgeoning anti-corruption and political activism. The charges were a prelude to a series of legal battles between Navalny and the Kremlin, which many international observers viewed as fabricated to suppress dissent.

On July 18, 2013, Alexei Navalny was found guilty of embezzlement by a Russian court and sentenced to five years in prison. The charges were related to the alleged embezzlement of 16 million rubles from a timber company, Kirovles. Navalny described the trial as a politically motivated effort to bar him from running for public office. The conviction sparked numerous protests and was criticized internationally due to perceived judicial flaws and political interference in the Russian legal system.

In March 2017, Alexei Navalny announced his intention to run for the presidency of Russia in the 2018 election. Navalny launched a campaign with widespread grassroots support, despite facing significant legal and political obstacles from the Kremlin. His campaign focused on anti-corruption measures and economic reforms, appealing to younger voters. However, due to a criminal conviction, he was barred from officially running. The announcement cemented his position as the main opposition figure challenging Putin's rule.

On May 5, 2018, Alexei Navalny was arrested during a nationwide protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was set to be inaugurated for a fourth term. The protests, organized under the slogan "He's not our Tsar," took place in over 90 cities across Russia. Navalny's detention was part of a broader crackdown on dissent. Thousands of demonstrators were arrested nationwide in an effort to stifle opposition to Putin's long-standing rule. Navalny's arrest highlighted the risks faced by opposition figures acting against the Russian government.

On July 29, 2019, Alexei Navalny was hospitalized with a severe allergic reaction while serving a 30-day jail sentence for calling unauthorized protests. Navalny's personal doctor suggested he might have been poisoned, leading to further outcry about his treatment. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his sudden illness raised concerns from human rights organizations and added to the pattern of persecution against him by Russian authorities.

On August 20, 2020, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok family. He fell severely ill on a domestic flight in Russia and was hospitalized in Omsk, Siberia, where Russian authorities initially resisted calls for his transfer. Eventually, he was flown to Germany for treatment. This incident was widely condemned by the international community and attributed to the Russian government by several countries.

After being transferred to the Charité hospital in Berlin, Germany, Alexei Navalny was placed in a medically induced coma. On September 7, 2020, doctors announced that he had been brought out of the coma and was responsive. Navalny's condition gradually improved, and he began communicating with his family and the medical team. His recovery was seen as a significant development after the severe poisoning incident.

On January 17, 2021, Alexei Navalny returned to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from the poisoning attempt. Upon arrival at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, he was immediately detained by Russian authorities. Navalny's arrest sparked widespread protests across Russia and garnered significant international criticism. His detention was seen as a move to silence one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critics.

On February 2, 2021, Alexei Navalny was sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony for violating the terms of a suspended sentence related to a 2014 embezzlement case, which the European Court of Human Rights had previously ruled as arbitrary and unreasonable. The court's decision intensified political tensions in Russia, with mass protests erupting in support of Navalny. His imprisonment was criticized by numerous international organizations and governments.

Alexei Navalny began a hunger strike on March 31, 2021, to demand proper medical care for various health issues he was experiencing while imprisoned. On April 21, 2021, he announced he would end the hunger strike after receiving medical attention from civilian doctors outside of the penal colony. His decision to cease the hunger strike was influenced by fears expressed by his doctors and supporters about his deteriorating health. Navalny's hunger strike drew immense international attention to his plight.