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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russian migrants in Yerevan called Navalny a symbol of freedom |
| 2024-02-17 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [KavkazUzel] Alexei Navalny instilled hope for change in Russia and its democratization, but this hope has faded, said participants in the Yerevan rally. As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug reported today that convict Alexei Navalny died in a colony after his condition sharply worsened. Conditions in the colony led to Navalny’s death, noted some social media users in southern Russia; some doubted that the causes of death were natural. Commentators expressed condolences to the politician's family. In Tbilisi, Batumi and Yerevan this evening, activists paid tribute to the memory of Alexei Navalny. In August 2020, Alexei Navalny fell into a coma after being poisoned at Omsk airport. Consciousness returned to him in Berlin, where Navalny was taken for treatment. Navalny said that Russian authorities were behind the attempt on his life. In January 2021, Alexei Navalny, who flew from Berlin to Moscow, was detained at Sheremetyevo Airport. A rally in memory of opposition politician Alexei Navalny has ended in Yerevan. The protesters lit candles and laid flowers at an impromptu memorial with photographs of the politician. The action ended without incidents or arrests, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports from the scene. Russian Mikhail considers the death of Alexei Navalny a murder. “When a person spends more than 300 days in a punishment cell [in harsh conditions], regardless of what caused his death, it can be called murder,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. The protest participant found it difficult to say whether the change would lead to the death of the politician or not. “Everyone who came here hopes for change,” he emphasized. Protest participant Alexander Martyanov also does not believe in the official version of the politician’s death. “How can one say that he [Navalny’s] blood clot came off if such a conclusion can be made after a doctor’s autopsy. No one did an autopsy, but the blood clot came off. A healthy person who didn’t drink, didn’t smoke, and was involved in sports, had a blood clot come off. Even if not directly, the authorities are to blame for his death. One of the reasons for the thromboembolism could have been his detention for a year in a punishment cell. In the cold, in hunger, they tortured the man," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The Russian doubts that Navalny's death can change anything. “In Russia, no one has been trying to pretend to be democracy for a long time. [The authorities] brazenly show that they don’t care about anyone. And they show that if Navalny was removed, any of us will be removed without any fuss,” Martyanov noted. According to protest participant Ekaterina, Navalny was for her and society the hope for freedom, justice and a fair trial. “Now there are only emotions, and it’s very difficult to think with your head. There is no second Navalny yet, but I hope that he will appear,” she told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. Producer Sergei Tselikov noted that in the current conditions one can hardly expect the appearance of a “second Navalny.” “If we had a competitive democratic environment, a replacement [for Navalny] would appear, but now the current government is rooting out any sprouts of dissent,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. Navalny's death is an indicator that the Russian authorities will stop at nothing, said one of the protesters. Protest participant Maria admits that the cause of the politician’s death was a blood clot. “Even the healthiest body can’t stand it for so long in such conditions. In fact, it’s not that important. I came [to the embassy] because I’m sad. I think it’s a big loss. I came here to be with those who feels the same way, and support those who for some reason cannot do this in Russia,” she told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. For Maria, Navalny is a symbol of freedom, honesty and strength. “There is a poster here that he is a hero of our time, and for me this is so,” the Russian woman emphasized. According to Elizaveta, Navalny's death showed that the situation in Russia will only get worse. “If you can kill a person for whom the world community stood, what can be done with those who are not so famous and who do not have such media support? There are many political prisoners in Russia, about whom no one actually knows, no one writes. They are supported except relatives and friends,” she noted. She is confident that everyone involved in Navalny’s death will not be punished. Russian Anatoly noted that Navalny instilled hope for a change of power and democratization of the country. “Today this hope has faded. There was still hope that I could return to Russia, but now I understand that I don’t want to return there for a long time,” he told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. There was hope that Navalny could become Russia's Nelson Mandela, but today this hope has faded, said a participant in the rally who did not want to introduce herself. The rallies in support of Navalny, which took place in January 2021 throughout Russia, were recognized by political scientists as the largest in recent decades. Since March 31, 2021, Navalny has been on a hunger strike in the colony, demanding that a visiting doctor be allowed to see him. After mass protests and concessions from the Federal Penitentiary Service, the oppositionist stopped his hunger strike. Related: Alexei Navalny: 2024-02-16 Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny died in a correctional colony Alexei Navalny: 2023-12-14 'Baba Yaga is against.' How the fugitive opposition is preparing for the Russian presidential elections Alexei Navalny: 2023-08-12 Russia Targets Activists' Families as Efforts to Muzzle Dissent Spread |
| Posted by:badanov |