When They’ll Do Anything to Stop Him

Exiling, jailing, or even murdering those who pose a challenge to entrenched political power has long been the modus operandi of authoritarian leaders and corrupt regimes worldwide. Russian President Vladimir Putin is perhaps the most notorious current leader associated with these techniques, and he has been accused of involvement in the poisonings of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 and Alexei Navalny in 2020. Of course, death by poisoning with no witnesses leaves the Russian government with room for plausible deniability, and President Putin has denied any involvement, but that has not stopped the United States and its State Department from strongly condemning these actions, as well as consistently decrying any efforts abroad for leaders to sideline their domestic political opponents.

In 2021, shortly after Navalny’s attempted assassination by poisoning, a Moscow court outlawed organizations linked to Navalny, arguably Russia’s most prominent critic of President Putin, labeling them as “extremist.” The Russian government has tirelessly pursued Navalny with charges dating back to 2012 for alleged embezzlement. And, in 2022, Navalny was convicted of fraud and contempt of court and, since then, has been incarcerated, including spending considerable time in solitary confinement. In early December, around the time that President Putin announced his re-election bid, Navalny’s lawyers lost contact with him, and his whereabouts were unknown until December 25th, when perhaps due to global scrutiny, he resurfaced in a remote prison colony north of the Arctic Circle.

At various points, the United States government has strongly condemned the Russian government’s cases and actions against Navalny. In reaction to Russia designating Navalny-affiliated organizations as “extremist,” State Department spokesman Ned Price stated: “With this action, Russia has effectively criminalized one of the country’s few remaining independent political movements…This is not the first time Russian authorities have labeled groups ‘extremist’ in order to stigmatize supporters and justify abuses against them.” And, in August of this year, Matthew Miller, another State Department spokesman, condemned Navalny’s charges: “The United States condemns a Russian court’s further sentencing and conviction of opposition politician and anti-corruption campaigner [Alexei] Navalny to an additional 19 years in prison on unfounded charges of so-called ‘extremism.’ This is an unjust conclusion to an unjust trial. For years, the Kremlin has attempted to silence Navalny and prevent his calls for transparency and accountability from reaching the Russian people.”