Alexei Navalny’s Death in a Russian Prison

Excerpts from 2023 duPont-Columbia Winner Navalny.

by Nishtha Shanti, 2023-24 duPont Fellow

Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal political opponent, died on Friday in a penitentiary located within the Arctic Circle, Russian authorities have announced.

The prominent anti-corruption advocate was the titular subject of the CNN Films/HBO feature documentary Navalny, a 2023 duPont-Columbia Winner. The film chronicled his story in the aftermath of being poisoned, allegedly by agents linked to the Russian government. The filmmakers watched as Navalny uncovered the identity of his assailants and then followed him on his dramatic return to Russia, where he was immediately taken into custody. He was subsequently sentenced to decades in prison on charges strongly condemned by international observers as politically motivated. 

Following a 2023 screening of the film at Columbia Journalism School, Navalny Director Daniel Roher said the political activist was facing harsh conditions in prison. “He is languishing in a solitary confinement cell,” Roher told duPont juror Professor June Cross. “He is the only prisoner in the Russian penal system who is relegated to perpetual solitary confinement. And his health is deteriorating.”  He described efforts to weaken Navalny: “The Russian penal system weaponizes other prisoners. They'll take a prisoner with tuberculosis or the flu or COVID and place that individual in Navalny's very, very small cell. And then, of course, Navalny will come down with a fever and then he will be denied access to his own doctors or civilian doctors. And instead he will be allowed to be treated by prison doctors who will inject him and treat him with all sorts of mystery substances. And for someone like Navalny, who already survived one assassination attempt, that is very, very nerve wracking, I can imagine. But in spite of it, the man maintains his ironclad humor and character and sense of levity.” 

That sense of humor was in evidence at his last sighting yesterday, February 15,  during a court appearance conducted via video link, where he was seen smiling from behind the bars of his cell and exchanging jokes. 

Navalny’s death was announced by Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service just one day later, reporting that Navalny, aged 47, became unconscious on Friday following a walk in the prison where he had been transferred late last year. Hours following the report of her husband's death, Yulia Navalnaya made a striking and unexpected appearance at a gathering of global leaders in Munich on Friday. Stepping onto the stage, she vehemently criticized President Putin and pledged that he and his inner circle "will be brought to justice."

“Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” said President Biden at a White House press conference after learning the news. “What has happened to Navalny is even more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled.”.

The duPont-Columbia Awards extend their condolences to his family and loved ones. You can watch the 2023 duPont Award winning film ‘Navalny’ here. You can hear more of Director Daniel Roher’s conversation with Professor June Cross on this episode of the duPont On Assignment Podcast.