Russian President Vladimir Putin has finally addressed the death of nationalist opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was detained in Russia.
In the afterglow of his election victory, Putin cavalierly said, “It’s life.” “People die in prison.” “It happens.”
In addition to pointing out that inmates in American jails also die, Putin made it clear that he did not feel an overwhelming amount of compassion for his old adversary. He insisted that he had already agreed to a prisoner swap before Navalny died in an Arctic jail camp. The swap would have involved the release of a Russian prisoner detained by the West in exchange for the campaigner’s release overseas, with the stipulation that the campaigner never returned to Russia.
Putin did not reveal who he would have thought of trading for Navalny from the West, although rumors have it that it would have been for Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov, who is currently serving a life term in German jail for murder.
The Russian government has stated that Navalny died of “sudden death syndrome,” but Navalny’s followers maintain that he was either murdered or sentenced to death by being sent to a harsh jail in the Arctic. Vladimir Putin killed her husband, according to his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, who urged his followers to keep fighting.
The Russian president’s assertions about a possible prisoner swap to free Navalny from Western custody are not unprecedented. Following Navalny’s demise, a Western diplomat who spoke to The New York Times said that “early discussions” regarding the potential for such a swap were already in progress when Navalny passed away.
Putin disliked Navalny so intensely that he refrained from publicly mentioning his name while alive. In 2020, a nerve toxin of military-grade poisoned Navalny, and he came dangerously close to death.
On the final day of the national election, Putin commented while leading with 88% of the vote, despite Navalny’s widow’s effort to derail the Russian dictator.
