Alexei Navalny: Know Russia’s anti-corruption campaigner whom Putin ‘fears’ the most

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s critical health condition due to suspected poisoning has triggered widespread speculations surrounding a possible assassination attempt. Navalny, an anti-corruption activist and staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin, is currently in a coma and on ventilator support in the intensive care unit.

“Alexei is still on a ventilator. He is in a coma in serious condition. There are no test results yet,” tweeted Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh.

Born to Ukrainian father and Russian mother in 1976, Navalny grew up in Obninsk, about 100 km southwest of Moscow and also spent childhood summers with his grandmother in Ukraine. He graduated from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in 1998 and later studied securities and exchanges at the Finance University under Russian government.

The 44-year-old politician gained prominence as a man Putin “fears” most after the Wall Street Journal published his interview with a similar title in 2012. He has been at the forefront of the anti-corruption struggle in Russia and has organised several demonstrations against Putin and his political allies.

Navalny used YouTube, Twitter, and personal blog to expose alleged corruption in Putin’s government and has published videos and documents on the corruption of Russian state officials. He has been jailed several times over various charges including embezzlement and calling for unauthorised protests, which the Russian leader has denounced as politically motivated.

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Past attacks on Putin's critics

He strongly criticised the sweeping constitutional reforms introduced by Putin, giving himself an option to stay in power beyond term limits. If medical reports confirm poisoning as that cause of his critical health condition, the previous attacks on Putin’s high-profile critics would be once again thrown into the spotlight.

In 2006, investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a strong critic of human rights abuses in Chechnya, was killed in Moscow and another critic Alexander Litvinenko died in London after being poisoned with a radioactive substance. An inquiry by UK authorities later found out that Litvinenko was killed by Russian spies.

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