Hundreds Arrested in Russia for Commemorating Alexei Navalny; Yulia Navalnaya: I Love You

A Russian human rights organization called "OVD-Info" announced on Sunday that over 400 people were arrested in various cities across Russia by Saturday evening for participating in different commemorative events honoring Alexei Navalny, an opponent of Putin. According to this human rights organization, more than 200 of these Russian citizens were arrested in St. Petersburg, including Grigory Mikhnev-Voitin, a priest from the Orthodox Apostolic Church, which operates independently of the Orthodox Church close to the Kremlin. St. Petersburg courts on Saturday sentenced 42 of the detainees to prison terms ranging from one to six days, and nine others were fined. OVD-Info reported that at least six people in Moscow were sentenced to 15 days in prison, and a total of three people were jailed in the cities of Krasnodar and Bryansk. Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny's wife, posted an old picture of herself and her husband on Instagram, writing: "I love you." Navalny, 47, collapsed and died in a prison located 1900 kilometers northeast of Moscow on Friday. Western leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, immediately paid tribute to Navalny and held Vladimir Putin personally responsible for his death. The U.S. President referred to Navalny's poisoning in 2020, stating: "He could have stayed in self-imposed exile in complete safety after the assassination attempt when he was outside Russia, but knowing he would be imprisoned or even killed, he returned to Russia because he deeply belonged to his country, Russia." Biden emphasized that Russia is spreading a fabricated narrative as a reason for Navalny's death, stating: "Make no mistake! Putin is responsible for Navalny's death. What happened to Navalny is a testament to Putin's ruthlessness... Putin targets not only citizens of other countries but also commits crimes against his own people." Britain also warned that the death of this prominent critic of Putin will have consequences for Russia. The Kremlin dismissed the reactions of Western leaders to Navalny's death as unacceptable, but Vladimir Putin has yet to comment on the matter. Navalny rose to prominence over a decade ago by mocking Vladimir Putin and the political elite of Russia, extensively covering their corruption and abuses in the country. In the summer of 2020, he was targeted in a poisoning attempt with a nerve agent in Siberia. At that time, the Kremlin denied any assassination attempt and claimed, contrary to existing evidence, that there was no proof of Navalny being poisoned with a nerve agent. Following this assassination attempt, Navalny was transferred to Germany for treatment but voluntarily returned to Russia in 2021 after completing his treatment and was imprisoned. International protests erupted over Navalny's death in prison, highlighting Vladimir Putin's responsibility.