From the editor
There is little doubt about it: Vladimir Putin is behind the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, 44, who is in a coma in an Omsk hospital after drinking tea at the airport in Tomsk before a flight to Moscow. Today a police officer told Navalny’s wife Yulia and head of his Foundation for Fighting Corruption Ivan Zhdanov that a deadly substance had been found, but that its identity is an “investigative secret”. She added that it could contaminate those around him and they should wear protective suits. Meanwhile a plane to evacuate Navalny to a specialist hospital in Germany has landed in Omsk, but the chief doctor in Omsk insists that it’s too risky to transport Navalny, despite the wishes of his family. He told journalists that the doctors in Russia are “no worse” than those in Germany. Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh says the authorities are playing for time to ensure that the poison is gone from Navalny’s body before he can be examined abroad.
Alexei Navalny expressing support for protests in Belarus on YouTube last week
Navalny has been battling Putin for years, and tried to run for president against him in the March 2018 election. In late 2017 he started holding popular rallies around the country and built up his network of offices despite the constant arrests of employees and supporters. The electoral commission ruled that Navalny could not be on the ballot because he had been convicted of a crime in a case fabricated by the Kremlin for that very reason. Since then he has started a “Smart Voting” campaign to encourage people to vote for any candidate in local elections other than the United Russia candidate. Navalny himself has been jailed multiple times and held under house arrest for months. He was poisoned while in jail last year, and has had green chemicals thrown in his face, damaging his eye. His brother Oleg spent 3 ½ years in prison solely so that the Kremlin could put pressure on Alexei. Navalny’s videos exposing the luxury properties of top Kremlin officials in Russia and abroad have attracted millions of views. He hosts a live political show on YouTube every Thursday.
So many critics of Putin have been poisoned that it hardly comes as a surprise any more. If anything people had been asking how Navalny had survived for so long and whether he was collaborating with authorities as a “controlled opposition” figure. We now have the answer. Navalny joins the ranks of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was poisoned on a plane and survived before being shot dead; former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who survived dioxin poisoning that ravaged his face; Pussy Riot’s Petr Verzilov, who survived poisoning thanks to being evacuated to Germany; and of course Alexander Litvinenko and Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
The Kremlin wants us to ask why they would do such a thing so blatantly, and Russian media have tried to spread false rumours that Navalny consumed drugs or alcohol. But the truth is that Putin enjoys watching people suffer and he enjoys his own notoriety. He understandably believes that he can act with impunity, especially in the era of a US president who, as has just been revealed, wrote a letter to Putin back in 2007 describing himself as a “big fan”. The timing of the attack on Navalny comes a few weeks before local elections in Russia and against the background of the huge protests in Belarus that Putin sees as a threat. Navalny had been travelling in Siberia gathering information about United Russia officials for an investigation and meeting election volunteers. The question is whether the West will, at long last, take real action against his would-be assassin.
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Protesters demand Navalny investigation
People have been picketing all over Russia to demand that authorities fully investigate the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and to express their hope that he survives. A few held up paper cups with slogans on them about poisoned tea. One man came to the FSB building in St. Petersburg wearing a gas mask and carrying a tray of “poisoned tea”. He was detained. A crowd gathered outside Gostiny Dvor in St. Petersburg and people held signs saying “Putin, stop poisoning people” and “In Russia it’s already scary to even drink tea.” Some signs just said “Navalny, live!” Several picketers were detained outside the FSB building in Moscow.
In Murmansk Navalny’s coordinator Violetta Grudina was detained for picketing with a sign saying “Navalny was poisoned. We know who ordered it.” She was held in a police station overnight for allegedly violating the rules of holding an event and was due to appear in court today. Navalny’s coordinator in Kemerovo, Stas Kalinichenko, picketed in Novosibirsk with a sign saying “Putin is toxic.” A picketer outside the hospital in Omsk where Navalny is being treated held a sign saying “Starovoitova, Politkovskaya, Nemtsov… Navalny? #WeKnowWhoIsGuilty.”
Environmental activists win concession
Protesters trying to defend the unique Kushtau mountains in Bashkiria from a mining company that wants to use the limestone to produce soda ash and baking soda have forced authorities to halt the development. The activists built a camp and occupied the area, getting into clashes with riot police, who detained dozens of them and tore down their tents. The campaigners had also chanted slogans in support of protesters in Khabarovsk. The head of Bashkiria, Radiy Khabirov, met the activists and promised that the mining would not go ahead without a compromise solution. Heavy equipment was removed from the site. Rock star Yuri Shevchuk has recorded a video statement and new song with his band DDT in support of the Kushtau activists, as well as a new video of his song “You Are Not Alone” dedicated to the Khabarovsk protesters.
Perm man gets prison sentence for Putin mannequin
In Perm Alexander Shabarchin has been found guilty of hooliganism and sentenced to two years in prison for putting up a mannequin of Putin in a striped jumpsuit in 2018 with the words “war criminal” on its chest and “liar” on its forehead. The judge reprimanded Shabarchin for “ridiculing Putin’s activities”. Shabarchin’s co-defendant Danil Vasiliev was given a one-year suspended sentence, and his other co-defendant Alexander Etkin was found not guilty.
Navalny’s coordinator in Khabarovsk jailed
Alexei Vorsin, the coordinator of Navalny’s team in Khabarovsk, has been jailed for 10 days for participating in the protests in the city and broadcasting them. The judge claimed that Vorsin broke the rules of participating in a march and shouted about the salaries of elected officials on a loudspeaker. Priest Andrei Vinarsky was jailed for three days for participating in the Khabarovsk protests. In Ulan-Ude blogger Dmitri Bairov was jailed for three days for making a video of a protest in support of Khabarovsk. In Kazan Andrei Boyarshinov was jailed for seven days for holding a sign saying “I am/we are Khabarovsk.”
Trump-Putin ties exposed in Senate Intelligence Committee report
More connections between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have been revealed in the newly-released fifth volume of the US Senate Intelligence Committee’s Bipartisan Russia Report. In December 2007 Trump wrote to Putin congratulating him on being chosen as Time magazine’s Person of the Year, saying, “You definitely deserve it. As you have probably heard, I am a big fan of yours! Take care of yourself.” In 2013 Donald Trump Jr. expressed excitement that Putin had sent Trump a gift. The 966-page document on “Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities” describes Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort working with Russian intelligence officer Konstantin Kilimnik, and Trump’s ties with Aras and Emin Agalarov, who are said to be linked to Russian organised crime.