Posted by 
Alexei Navalny, long seen as the most significant political opponent to Russian President Vladimir Putin, died in prison on Friday, the federal prison service announced.
Navalny was held in a high security prison in Yamal near the Arctic Circle.
The death of the 47 years old comes a month before a presidential election in which Putin is set to extend his more than two-decade rule and consolidate his grip on the country.
“On February 16, 2024, in Penal Colony No. 3, the convict Alexei Navalny felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness, according to representatives of the department,” the Yamal directorate of the federal penitentiary service said in a statement.
“Medical personnel from the institution arrived promptly, and an ambulance crew was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but unfortunately, they did not yield positive results. The emergency medical team pronounced the convict dead. The cause of death is being investigated,” the statement added.
That sudden collapse was unexpected as he had appeared in good health and spirits only on Thursday. The independent Russian news outlet SOTA published a video of a court session, in which he was joked he was running out of spending money in prison.
For years, Navalny has been the most prominent opposition figure in Russia.
With the Kremlin cracking down on all forms of dissent, Navalny was seen as the only person still capable of mobilizing Russians to participate in organized protest against the Kremlin.
In August 2020 he went into a coma after suffering a poison attack with the nerve agent Novichok in what his supporters say was a state-sponsored attempt to kill him.
But Navalny survived and, after receiving treatment in Germany, returned to Russia in 2021.
Upon arrival at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, he was immediately arrested and had been behind bars ever since
Putin was informed about Navalny’s death, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
“As far as we know, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) is currently handling all the existing rules, conducting investigations, and so on. There’s no need for any specific instructions because there are certain regulations that the FSIN is currently following,” he added.
Peskov said he didn’t have any information about the cause of death. “The medical staff should investigate somehow,” he said.
Navalny’s close ally Leonid Volkov wrote on Telegram said he had no independent confirmation of the death. “As soon as we have any information, we’ll announce it,” he said.
