Former President Donald Trump on Monday commented on the death of Russian politician Alexei Navalny, who was a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a post on Truth Social, the 45th president likened Mr. Navalny’s woes to his own, saying, “The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country.”
“It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open Borders, Rigged Elections, and Grossly Unfair Courtroom Decisions are DESTROYING AMERICA. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE, A FAILING NATION! MAGA2024”
President Joe Biden on Friday also commented on Mr. Navalny’s death, criticizing Mr. Putin, as did Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley. “Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” President Biden said.
Former presidents and top members of Congress from both parties also denounced Mr. Putin over the death of Mr. Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, since it was reported on Friday.
“Alexei Navalny has been a strong voice for freedom, for democracy, for many years, and NATO and NATO allies have called for his immediate release for a long time.”
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NPR in an interview, “If it’s confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy, and given the Russian government’s long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents, it raises real and obvious questions about what happened here.”
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide wrote on X: “Deeply saddened by the news of the death in prison by Alexei Navalny. The Russian Government bears a heavy responsibility.”
Mr. Navalny died while being held in a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle, where he was serving an extended prison term. The Kremlin says he was a convicted criminal and had accused him and his supporters as extremists with links to the CIA, which they say is seeking to destabilize Russia. Mr. Navalny had denied all charges.
Mr. Navalny, a lawyer, died at the age of 47. He was vocal about official corruption and had staged massive anti-Kremlin protests. He had been incarcerated since January 2021 following his return to Moscow from Germany, where he was recuperating from a nerve agent poisoning.
He accused the Kremlin of the poisoning, which was done using Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.
After his return, he received three prison sentences totaling more than 30 years.
According to Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, Mr. Navalny felt unwell after a walk at the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp, about 1,181 miles northeast of Moscow inside the Arctic Circle. He lost consciousness almost immediately.
“All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results,” the prison service stated, noting that causes of death were being established.
More than 400 people have been detained at events across 32 Russian cities since Navalny’s death, according to rights group OVD-Info, as Russians continued to gather and lay flowers.
It is the largest wave of arrests at political events in Russia since September 2022, when more than 1,300 were arrested at demonstrations against a “partial mobilization” of reservists for Mr. Putin’s military campaign in Ukraine.
OVD-Info, which reports on freedom of assembly in Russia, said the largest numbers of arrests occurred in St. Petersburg and Moscow, where Mr. Navalny’s support had traditionally been strong.
Footage filmed by Reuters on Saturday in St. Petersburg showed dozens gathering by a monument to victims of communism. Protesters laid flowers and candles, while some sang hymns and others hugged each other, shedding tears.
Mr. Navalny entered politics in 2008, rising to prominence following his anti-corruption investigations of members of the Russian elite, such as Dmitry Medvedev, a former president, prime minister, and close ally of Mr. Putin.
Mr. Navalny was arrested more than 10 times and placed in custody for hundreds of days.
