Key Points
- The 47-year-old was Russia's most prominent opposition leader.
- Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened an investigation into the death.
- Western governments and Russian opposition figures on Friday said the Kremlin was responsible for his death.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died on Friday after collapsing and losing consciousness at the penal colony north of the Arctic Circle where , the Russian prison service said.
Navalny, by far Russia's most famous opposition leader, rose to prominence more than a decade ago by lampooning the elite class around President Vladimir Putin and voicing allegations of corruption on a vast scale. He was 47.
World leaders and Russian opposition activists have wasted no time in blaming the reported death on Putin and his government.
Here's what we know so far, and how the world has reacted.
How did Alexei Navalny die?
The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District said in a statement that Navalny "felt unwell" after a walk at the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp, about 1,900 km north east of Moscow.
Navalny, the prison service said, had lost consciousness almost immediately.
"The medical staff of the institution arrived immediately, and an ambulance team was called," the prison service said.
"All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Doctors of the ambulance stated the death of the convict."
"The causes of death are being established."
Putin has been told about Navalny's death, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Navalny's associates stressed they did not have independent confirmation of his death in the reports that came from Russia's penitentiary officials. His close ally Ivan Zhdanov said authorities "must notify the relatives" within 24 hours, but there have been no such notifications.
Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, appearing at the Munich conference, said she did not know whether to believe the official Russian announcement because "we cannot trust Putin and the Putin government. They always lie."
"But if this is true, I want Putin and everyone around Putin, Putin's friends, his government, to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family and to my husband. And this day will come very soon," she said.
How has the world reacted to Navalny's death?
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was "shocked and saddened" at the news of Navalny's death, and said the Russian government was "solely responsible".
"His heroic opposition to Putin’s repressive and unjust regime inspired the world," she wrote on X.
"We hold the Russian Government solely responsible for his treatment and death in prison."
The European Union also blamed Russia.
"Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice," European Council President Charles Michel posted on X.
"The EU holds the Russian regime for sole responsible for this tragic death."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country continues to fight invasion by Russia, said Putin "must be held responsible".
"It is obvious that he was killed by Putin," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Putin doesn't care who dies — only for him to hold his position. This is why he must hold onto nothing. Putin must lose everything and be held responsible for his deeds," Zelenskyy added.
US President Joe Biden said Washington does not know exactly what happened, "but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something Putin and his thugs did."
French President Emmanuel Macron said Navalny's death showed "the weakness of the Kremlin and their fear of all opponents."
British foreign minister David Cameron said Putin should answer for Navalny's death.
"We should hold Putin accountable for this," Cameron said, speaking to reporters in Munich where he was attending a security conference.
"There should be consequences, because there's no doubt in my mind, this man was a brave fighter against corruption, for justice, for democracy."
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also paid tribute to Navalny, calling him "the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy."
Russian newspaper editor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov told Reuters on Friday the death of Navalny was "murder", and said that he believed harsh treatment had led to his demise.
"My sincere belief is that it was the conditions of detention that led to Navalny's death ... His sentence was supplemented by murder," Muratov said, offering condolences to his family.
Navalny earned admiration from Russia's disparate opposition for voluntarily returning to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had been .
Navalny said at the time that he was poisoned in Siberia in August 2020. The Kremlin denied trying to kill him and said there was no evidence he was poisoned with a nerve agent.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the reaction of Western leaders to the death was unacceptable and "absolutely rabid".
-Additional reporting by AAP
