On Saturday, the mother of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s leading opposition figure, was informed that her son had succumbed to “sudden death syndrome”. His team conveyed that his remains would not be released to the family until the completion of an ongoing investigation.
Alexei Navalny, previously a lawyer and aged 47, tragically passed away on Friday. He lost consciousness and subsequently died following a walk at the “Polar Wolf” penal colony situated in Kharp, which is approximately 1,900 km (or 1,200 miles) to the northeast of Moscow. He was serving a sentence that was set to last three decades, as stated by the prison service.
Alexei Navalny's mother was told that Russia's most prominent opposition leader died from 'sudden death syndrome' and his family would not receive the body until an investigation was complete https://t.co/3uHVbclEGZ pic.twitter.com/a3ceO6E8u9
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 17, 2024
Tributes to Navalny’s bravery were led by Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden. They held President Vladimir Putin accountable for the death, albeit without presenting any evidence. The United Kingdom warned that Russia would face repercussions.
The Kremlin expressed that the response from the West was not only unacceptable but also “absolutely rabid”. As of now, President Putin has not made any comments regarding Navalny’s death.
‘Putin has such bad luck with people dying. So many people he knows just keep winding up dead’
'It's a bad case of Sudden Russian Death Syndrome'@andrewdoyle_com @LewisSchaffer @NickDixonComic react to tomorrow's front pages. pic.twitter.com/OJbNhObSvx
— GB News (@GBNEWS) February 16, 2024
Lyudmila, the 69-year-old mother of Navalny, courageously endured the harsh Arctic temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday to pay a visit to the penal colony where her son tragically lost his life.
“When Alexei’s lawyer and mother arrived at the colony this morning, they were told that the cause of Navalny’s death was sudden death syndrome,” Ivan Zhdanov, who directs Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said on social media platform X.
“Sudden death syndrome” is a vague term for different cardiac syndromes that cause sudden cardiac arrest and death.
Alexei Navalny died of ‘sudden death syndrome,’ authorities claim as devastated mom says Putin critic was murdered https://t.co/V4ZLUVOy2E pic.twitter.com/o4uCAaZUgZ
— New York Post (@nypost) February 17, 2024
The location of Navalny’s body remained uncertain, as per his team. His mother was informed that the body had been transported to Salekhard, a town in proximity to the prison complex. However, upon her arrival at the morgue, she found it to be closed.
Critics of Putin expressed that the demise of Navalny underscored the perilous state of Putin’s Russia, 32 years subsequent to the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, which had initially sparked aspirations for a brighter future.
“Alexei didn’t die – he was murdered,” Navalny’s spokeswoman, Yarmysh, said. His vision, she said, would live on.
ALSO READ | Joe Biden Accuses Putin of Responsibility in Navalny’s Demise: A Complex Allegation